Tegna

The increase to $917 million is tagged to the absence of political revenue and Winter Olympics on NBC, the company’s largest Big 4 affiliate portfolio, as well as the Super Bowl airing on NBC last year compared to Fox stations this year.

Even before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied Standard General’s petition to force the FCC to vote on its proposed $8.6 billion acquisition of Tegna, company founder Soo Kim knew his last-ditch legal maneuvers were a long shot. Nevertheless, Kim seemed disappointed, frustrated and chagrined that the deal appears likely to die when the financing he assembled expires on May 22.

Tegna brings him back to its Florida NBC-ABC duopoly to oversee all operations.

Tegna appoints the former marketing director at WCNC Charlotte, N.C., to lead its NBC affiliates in central Texas.

The increase to $917 million is helped by 9% growth in political revenue compared to 2018, the last nonpresidential year.

Meredith Conte, Tegna’s VP of marketing, shares how some of the Tegna stations are celebrating Black History Month this year. See the examples and hear from the content creators themselves about their approaches.

The satellite company calls Cox Media Group’s claims “misleading at best.”

The increase to $803 million is driven by 28% growth in political revenue compared to 2018, the last nonpresidential year.

Tegna’s Verify investigative team has won a following of 100,000 and growing on TikTok, where a younger demographic has been drawn to its simple reportorial mission and authentic voice. TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Verify’s Ariane Datil and Casey Decker about the dos and don’ts of making TikTok work for news. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

Tech executives from Tegna, Sinclair and CBS Owned Stations are looking to the cloud for major changes to their processes that offer new flexibility and scalability for their businesses. A single, cloud-based control room is near top of their wish list. Above (l-r): Tegna’s Kurt Rao, Sinclair’s Mike Kralec, Vizrt’s Jon Raidel and CBS Owned Stations’ Jeff Birch (Alyssa Wesley photo).

The increase to $785 million is driven by growth in both political and subscription revenues.

Standard General (SGCI) has told the FCC that the two-week comment extension it has granted on the proposed Standard General-Tegna merger could cost the company millions of dollars. SGCI, in opposing a comment extension the FCC ultimately granted, told the FCC that the way the deal is structured the per-share price SGCI has to pay escalates based on the closing date.

The NewsGuild-CWA and and the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET)-CWA filed a petition to dismiss or deny the deal with the FCC on Wednesday (June 22), the deadline for such filings. They say the deal, which was approved by Tegna shareholders in May, and interrelated transactions — what they labeled an “unprecedented array of sequenced transactions and swaps” — are actually an attempt to “game the commission’s ownership and retransmission consent rules in ways that contravene the commission’s public interest standard.”

In a highly unusual move during a takeover, Standard Media CEO Deb McDermott tries to calm rumors and concerns about staff cuts.

The FCC is asking more questions about private equity company Standard General’s planned purchase of Tegna and take it private. Tegna’s shareholders recently voted to approve the acquisition and the deal is still expected to close on schedule sometime in the second half of this year. But the transaction must still get regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. Among its new questions, the FCC is asking how Standard General would negotiate retransmission agreements with cable providers for rights to carry TV station signals. It also asked about possible layoffs. And it asked for a detailed explanation with supporting data describing how the transaction would serve the public interest.

He moves from KDAF Dallas to oversee the Tegna ABC and NBC duopoly in southeast Texas.

The NewsGuild-CWA is asking President Biden to urge the FCC to block the purchase of Tegna TV stations by investment fund Standard General and Apollo Global Management. The guild, the nation’s largest union representing journalists, told the President in an open letter circulated widely Thursday (June 2) that the deal “would kill journalism jobs, undermine local news and raise prices for American families.”

Tegna Inc. said that at a special meeting of shareholders held earlier today, its shareholders voted to adopt the merger with an affiliate of Standard General L.P. According to the preliminary results announced at the special meeting, subject to certification by the independent inspector of election, approximately 78% of Tegna’s outstanding common shares voted to adopt the merger agreement. Tegna said the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Upon closing, Tegna will become a private company, and its shares will no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Critics of the $8 billion-plus purchase of Tegna’s TV station group by investment fund Standard General have told the FCC it needs to collect more data on the proposed merger before it rules on whether it is in the public interest. Common Cause, joined by the NewsGuild-CWA union and Public Knowledge, have filed a formal motion for both additional documents that the FCC and the public can peruse and an extension of time to weigh in. Currently, the FCC has set a May 23 deadline for those wishing to formally oppose the deal.

The increase to $774 million is due to record first quarter advertising and marketing services revenue.

Tegna has retooled the UX on its stations’ OTT apps, giving local markets programming autonomy and boosting Verify and its Locked On sports podcasts with a larger presence. Above, the new app on WTHR Indianapolis.

Nexstar Media Group’s board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.90 per share on its Class A common stock. The dividend is payable on Friday, May 27, to shareholders of record on Friday, May 13. Also, Tegna‘s board declared a regular quarterly dividend of 9.5 cents per share, payable on July 1 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 3.

Executives from Fox Television Stations, E.W. Scripps, Tegna, Gray and Blackbird said in a TVNewsCheck webinar Thursday that local content is becoming increasingly crucial in a world of shrinking syndication options, but to pull it off more resources need to be invested in local people and the technology to support them.

A Tegna shareholder has sued the broadcaster and its board seeking to enjoin the company from closing its sale to Standard General because its proxy statements are “false and misleading.” Marc Waterman, who says in the suit he is an owner of Tegna common stock, filed the suit in the United States District Court on March 30.

Executives from Fox Television Stations, Gray Television, Tegna, Blackbird and E.W. Scripps will discuss how they’re diversifying local programming to replace syndicated content and create new options for their linear and streaming channels, all while containing costs, in a TVNewsCheck Working Lunch Webinar on April 14 at 1 p.m. ET. Register here.

The fact-checking unit has seen surging subscribers on its YouTube and TikTok channels since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, and it’s using a variety of tools like RevEye, InVid, Google Maps and the Internet Archives Wayback Machine to debunk mis- and disinformation on the conflict.

Change is coming to Tegna. Standard General, which won a drawn-out auction for the broadcaster, believes local stations are valuable assets even as most of the television industry pivots to streaming. If Standard General thought local stations were being made obsolete by cord-cutting and the other forces eroding traditional ratings, then “we’re not making an investment this large,” Standard General founding partner Soo Kim says.

Hedge fund investor Soo Kim takes a long-sought prize in Tegna’s sale to Standard General and Apollo Global Management. The deal has many layers to tease out and potential regulatory headwinds, along with questions about the new regime’s depth of commitment to news.

Following the close of the $24-a-share transaction, Deb McDermott will continue to lead the group. Tegna stations in Austin (KVUE), Dallas (WFAA and KMPX) and Houston (KHOU and KTBU) are expected to be acquired by Cox Media Group from Standard General. Also after closing, Premion is expected to operate as a standalone business majority owned by Cox Media Group and Standard General.

Newsletters, documentaries, citizen journalism and better-quality UGC are driving better-engaged viewers in higher numbers to stations, leaders from Tegna, Graham Media and Sinclair said at a TVNewsCheck webinar last Friday, where they made clear that quality trumped novelty.

The carriage agreement includes retransmission consent for 12 Tegna-owned stations in Mediacom markets.

TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Madison Carter, a journalist with the Atticus investigative unit at WXIA Atlanta and Monika Diaz, content director at Tegna, about the work behind their new, three-part investigative series, A Different Cry, about rising suicide rates among Black youths.