KHON TV Sold

[mel]

KHON TV SOLD

Howard Dicus emailed me with this info and link to Pacific Business News:

Emmis Communications Corp. has sold KHON-TV and three Mainland stations to SJL Broadcast Group for $259 million.

more detail at PBN's site

My short little take on this: Since the sale does not involve KGMB TV, the duopoly enjoyed by both stations will come to an end. I am sure most people who were concerned about the news operations will be happy.

All opinons and commentary are welcome as usual.

[pzarquon]

Re: KHON TV Sold

Love that late-breaking news...

Sounds like Emmis is pulling out of the TV business. Can't find much about SJL Broadcasting, though.

It's good to see the duopoly end. Do wonder what'll happen to those who worked for both KHON and KGMB (and to the web development contract -- to think KHON only just recently came back online!).

[lavagal]

Re: KHON TV Sold

Love that late-breaking news...

Sounds like Emmis is pulling out of the TV business. Can't find much about SJL Broadcasting, though.

It's good to see the duopoly end. Do wonder what'll happen to those who worked for both KHON and KGMB (and to the web development contract -- to think KHON only just recently came back online!).

I wonder then if this affects Gina Mangieri, who was originally hired to maintain their Website and then got to become a TV reporter. No problem, I'm sure with the Cole Academy charging big bucks and looking like it's doing quite well.

[LikaNui]

Re: KHON TV Sold

Can't find much about SJL Broadcasting, though.

I spent a couple of minutes sniffing around and found some interesting items, most notably that SJL is owned by George D. Lilly, nephew of the billionairess heiress of the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company.
Here's what I found:

George D. Lilly
President
S.J.L. Broadcast Management Co.
Santa Barbara, Calif.
(LikaNui note: the company is actually based in Montecito, which is a gentrified and ultra-exclusive Beverly Hills-type community just south of Santa Barbara.)

http://www.sjlbroadcast.com (but I couldn't get this link to open)

A "Who-Is" search turned this up:
Registrant:
SJL Broadcast Management
3203 3rd Ave.
Billings, MT 59101
US
Domain Name: SJLBROADCAST.COM
Administrative Contact :
Mccurdy, Robert
sjldave@AOL.COM
3203 3RD AVE N
BILLINGS, MT 59101-1945
US
Phone: (406) 256-0705

Then at http://www.altacomm.com/portfolio/tv.cfm I found this:
SJL Communications is a television broadcasting company formed by Alta Communications and George Lilly to acquire NBC affiliates in Santa Barbara, CA and Erie, PA. The Company sold its Santa Barbara station in 2002 to New Vision Group, and in early 2005 raised additional capital to refinance Alta out of the deal.

AltaCom’s main page at http://www.altacomm.com/ says:
Alta Communications is a Boston-based private equity firm. It was formed in late 1996 as part of a transition of Burr, Egan Deleage & Co, a venture capital firm founded in 1979 which invested in information technology, communications, and healthcare/biotechnology companies. Alta's founding partners, the former communications investing group of Burr, Egan Deleage, formed Alta Communications to focus exclusively on the media and telecommunications industries.
Over the last 20 years, this team has been extremely active - with investments in over 100 communications companies - and has developed a successful track record. The current team has over 100 years of collective communications investment experience, making Alta the partner of choice for several of today's leading media and telecommunications companies.
Currently we have approximately $1.5 billion of capital under management spread across five limited partnerships. In early 2003 we closed our most recent fund, the $500 million Alta IX. Limited partners consist primarily of large pension funds and university endowments.
In addition to our broad network of entrepreneurs and industry contacts, our experience has taught us how to be great partners. We have stood by our management teams in good times and bad, developing a reputation for patience and perspective.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...0117_mz021.htm mentions (toward the end of the article) that he’s the nephew of the billionaress who inherited the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical fortune.

http://static.elibrary.com/b/broadca...ber/index.html :
Former-partners-turned-competitors Robert N. Smith and George D. Lilly unknowingly linked up again last week to purchase two California TV stations from Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
Smith and Lilly separately approached Murdoch at about the same time, expressing interest in KSBW Monterey/Salinas and KSBY(TV) Santa Barbara/Santa Maria/San Luis Obispo, respectively. Last Monday, the deals came together: Smith bought KSBW for $30.3 million; Lilly paid $17 million for KSBY (see "Changing Hands"). Both stations are NBC affiliates.
With Smith Broadcasting Group Inc. based in Santa Barbara, where it owns KEYT-TV, Lilly and Smith become competitors in yet another market. "It just worked out that way," Smith says with a laugh.

Interesting.

[adrian]

Re: KHON TV Sold

So, no reporter trading from both stations?
(I wonder while those two were in the same company, if the reporters parked their cars at one place and walked to the other?)

[tvguy]

Re: KHON TV Sold

It looks like Rick Blangiardi will stay at the helm of KHON....wonder if there will be someone new at KGMB????

[Pomai]

Re: KHON TV Sold

I suspect little will happen on the newsroom floor (as far as jobs are concerned). Whew!

[mel]

Re: KHON TV Sold

KHON Deal May Not End Duopoly

Erika Engle reports this morning that Emmis may try to get SJL to buy or at least run KGMB if no other buyer can be found.

If no buyer materializes for KGMB when the sale of KHON is completed, Emmis is endeavoring to work out a deal to allow the two stations to continue sharing management, said Rick Blangiardi, Emmis' local general manager and vice preside.

Read the complete story by clicking the title link above.

[pzarquon]

Re: KHON TV Sold

I suspect little will happen on the newsroom floor (as far as jobs are concerned). Whew!

In reporting the sale last night (complete with interior shots of the KHON newsroom with employees trying to look busy), Rick gave the standard "we're excited to be working with a great company" PR line, and Joe reassured folks that FOX programming and syndicated programming would continue. "The sale mostly means the people here are going to be filling out a lot of paperwork," Joe said. "And life goes on."

Erika Engle reports this morning that Emmis may try to get SJL to buy or at least run KGMB if no other buyer can be found.

Ooh, two for one special! Good news for KGMB, I suppose, but less so for Hawaii.

[kimo55]

Re: KHON TV Sold

(LikaNui note: the company is actually based in Montecito, which is a gentrified and ultra-exclusive Beverly Hills-type community just south of Santa Barbara.)

good digging, there!

Lilly uses his home zip code for SJL but sez SB for clarification, as most know SB more than Montecito.
Or Moneycito as I call it. It's much different from Beverly Hills, which is ostentatious and loud and busy. Montecito is quiet, much more private, (look at the hedgerow neighborhood) it's more of the old money, and has for the last couple decades experienced an influx of music and film industry names, directors and stars seeking more subdued climes, socially and attention wise. It's not really at all gentrified as that sez it's in the process of renewal and rebuilding, accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces earlier usually poorer residents.
This area never was deteriorated. And it always was the home for well to do, for many decades, No poor were displaced. There is no influx of middle class into Montecito. It's not going through renewal or rebuilding, (save for the occasional storefront along Coast Village Road). That is part of it's well treasured and well protected charm; It won't and need not go through "renewal" as State St., a few miles up, has. (Which also never needed any renewal)
I lived there for many years and when I visit, I am please to see it remain unchanged since the eighties.

[RobertHawaii808]

Re: KHON TV Sold/More on SJL

Some data on George Lilly/SJL--I have a handful of friends who have worked at his stations...

The Montecitio "Office" is simply his house in Santa Barbara County. It has actually been on the market for quite a while. It might be sold by now. The "gossips" around town was he and his much younger wife were getting a divorce....OK-Enough of the "Coffee Talk" gossip--Here's the info on SJL as a biz:

George's background is in sales. He's from Boston, and is huge Boston Univ. supporter. Back in the 1980s, he was the GM at a station in Buffalo, and he, along with the backing of an investment group bought the NBC affiliate there in the mid-1980s for $56 Million. Within two years, they sold it for $100 Million to Tak Communications. (Remember this was the crazy 1980s) BTW: Didn't TAK own KITV?

Anyways, this was encouraging enough for George to pursue other station opportunities. He settled in Montecito after he purchased the NBC affiliate, KSBY-TV in neighboring San Luis Obispo. He sold this station a few years ago, but he still has a group of stations, primarily on the east coast. Most of his stations purchases are largely financed by outside investment firms, such as Alta and Blackstone, and while his name may be on the license, the equity is with the financial backers. Since Blackstone was recruited by Emmis to explore the sale of the stations, it seems likely that Blackstone decided to grab KHON and the other three mainland stations, and have SJL run them.

SJL refers to the initials of one his children.

OF NOTE OF THE KHON/KGMB duopoly: SJL had a similar scenario in Erie, PA. SJL owns the NBC station, and it wanted to own the CBS station in the market as well. It could not, however, due to the FCC rules. George Lilly simply put the CBS license in one of his grown sons' name, yet the NBC station technically runs both stations. Could this be the next step with the KHON-KGMB saga? The elder Lilly has been encouraging his sons to enter broadcasting; they owned a small ABC station in upstate New York, but in checking the FCC records, it looks like the financial partner, Mercury Capital took over the majority of the equity of that station--A usual consequence when the station is mismanaged, or the debts are not satisfied on schedule.

For the most part, SJL stations are good operations. George Lilly puts a lot of trust in a team of tv managers, lawyers, accountants who keep an eye out for him. The only red flag is the financial makeup of most of the SJL properties, which have a great deal of equity with financial firms, not broadcasters. While Broadcasting is still a business, the MBA-Pencil-Pushers will always be quick to cut costs or sell a station at a moment's notice, in order to keep the books looking good.

[tvguy]

Re: KHON TV Sold

Wow. Great research there. I believe TAK owned KITV prior to their current owner, Hearst. Still interested to see the fate of KGMB. Some very smart person had it fixed up, refurbished, and upgraded over the past couple years making it much more attractive to a potential buyer.

[tvnewshound]

Re: KHON TV Sold

how come no one has commented on the fact the khon has yet another news director. his name is ron comings and he comes to khon from california and before that he was in washington state.
also heard yesterday that there has been an anchor switch at a honolulu station. anyone know anything about this?

[TuNnL]

Re: KHON TV Sold

Probably because few (if anyone) has heard of him. News directors usually last less then five years anyway, and particularly so at KHON which is on at least its third news director in as many years.

As far as anchor switches, there is a thread about Angela Keen on this forum. The former KGMB9 health reporter will be a new A.M. anchor on News8. Also Dave Erickson who started a month ago as a reporter at KHNL has apparently moved up to anchor.

Lastly, Keahi Tucker started reporting this week for KGMB9, but the local dailies have already said the plan is to move him into the anchor spot with Kim Gennaula.

[RobertHawaii808]

Re: KHON TV Sold/KGMB Future...

Hi All:

The KHON sale has just been filed w/the FCC; the data is on the FCC website.

Of note: Within the sales agreements is a "Shared Service Agreement" with KGMB. This is, for the most part, very similar to a LMA document, where KHON runs KGMB, but the license is still w/Emmis. As opposed to a LMA, a shared service agreement allows the two stations to avoid the FCC restrictions pertaining to LMAs and duopolies with top ranked stations.

It's all a bunch of legal mumbo-jumbo, but the end result is still two stations, for the most part, under the same management.