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Consolidation And Independent Station Sales Are On The Rise
As we move toward a digital future, the family-owned terrestrial station, an icon of American broadcasting, is going the way of the mom-andpop candy store.
Although the pressures of competing with ever-expanding media conglomerates like Time Warner and Disney and the impending expense of digital television have something to do with it, more and more independents are simply taking advantage of a bull market-where station values are higher than they've been in a long time.
Less than a year ago, Jon Kelly started examining the long term prospects for his family business, unaware the result would be the sale of the Sacramento television station KCRA-TV his father started 53 years ago.
"When I started the analysis through 2010, I had no intention of selling," he said.
In fact, Kelly Broadcasting had just invested $30 million in a digital studio for KCPQ-TV, the company's Fox affiliate in Seattle. Kelly estimated another $20 million would be necessary to outfit the station for high definition broadcasting.
"I wasn't afraid of that," he said. "That's just another moderate point."
Kelly said the expense of the digital transition alone wouldn't have precipitated the sale of the two stations that brought a total of $900 million-$520 million for KCRA from New York-based HearstArgyle Television, and $380 million for KCPQ from...