- New Young Broadcasting
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New Young Broadcasting 
Type Currently publicly traded (YBTVQ.PK) Industry Media Fate Bankrupt Founded 1986 Founder(s) Adam Young; Adam Young, Inc. Headquarters New York, NY, United States Key people Vincent J. Young (Chairman)
Deborah A. McDermott (president)
Peter Grazioli (CIO)Services TV stations New Young Broadcasting Holding Co, Inc. is an owner of 14 television stations in 11 United States media markets. The company was formerly known as Young Broadcasting Inc. (and is still sometimes referred by that name) and was the outgrowth of the ad representation/invest firm Adam Young, Inc. which was founded in 1944 by Adam Young and is currently run in part by his son, Vincent. Previously a publicly traded company, Young Broadcasting is in the process of emerging from bankruptcy proceedings as a privately held company owned by its secured creditors.
Contents
History
Young Broadcasting entered station ownership in 1986, when it purchased stations in Lansing, Michigan and La Crosse, Wisconsin. (A separate deal in 1986 would see Young acquire a station in Rockford, Illinois.) Young would expand its station roster to include a 1993 purchase of 3 stations formerly owned by Nationwide Insurance's broadcasting arm, as well as Los Angeles independent KCAL-TV, which was purchased from the Walt Disney Company in 1996.
In 1999, Young Broadcasting set a record for the purchase price of a single TV station when it purchased KRON-TV in San Francisco, California from Chronicle Broadcasting for $823 million. (The purchase also included a sister cable network, BayTV, which would be shuttered in 2001.) Fortunes for KRON, and with it its new owners, would soon take a sharp decline: NBC, angry at not only being outbid for KRON but by Young's refusal to pay NBC for affiliation, severed its relationship with KRON at the end of 2001 and affiliated with (and eventually purchased) San Jose-based KNTV, and moving its transmitter closer to San Francisco. KRON suddenly became an independent station, eventually taking affiliation with MyNetworkTV in 2006. As a result of losing NBC, KRON's value eventually dropped into the range of $150–$250 million by 2009. Young would eventually sell off 3 of its stations (see below) in an effort to either finance or pay off debt pertaining to the KRON purchase.
Young would never really recover from KRON's loss of NBC affiliation and subsequent loss of value. For several years, rumors of the company either being bought or selling some or all of its remaining stations circulated. Ironically, Young attempted to sell KRON in 2008, only to suspend its efforts after receiving no interest from possible buyers.[1] The massive debt load Young incurred from its purchase and ownership of KRON was widely believed to have been a contributing factor to the company's 2009 bankruptcy declaration.[2]
In December 2008, Dish Network dropped all of Young Broadcasting's stations in a retransmission fee dispute. Each station posted a letter similar to the one on KRON's website to notify their viewers of the dispute. The dispute lasted for 3 days before a new agreement was signed late on December 14, returning Young's stations to Dish Networks.
Financial Difficulties and Bankruptcy
In January 2009, after failing to meet the minimum standards for being listed on NASDAQ, Young Broadcasting was dropped from the exchange.[3] The company skipped interest payments to its creditors and in February 2009 voluntarily declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 13, 2009 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.[4][5]
Young Broadcasting originally planned to auction off its stations in a New York City bankruptcy court on July 14, 2009, but it canceled the auction at the last minute, a move likely believed to have been due to lack of interest from buyers or from bids deemed unacceptable.[6][7] Instead of the auction, a deal was reached where Young's secured lenders (among them Wachovia and Credit Suisse) would take control of the company for $220 million. Chairman/CEO Vincent Young would remain on the company's 5-member Board of Directors (2 members of which would be appointed by the lenders).
As part of Young's bankruptcy deal, which was officially filed in bankruptcy court in July 2009,[8] Gray Television was tapped to join into a management contract, under which Gray would act as a third-party handler of day-to-day management and operations at 10 Young-owned stations in 7 markets. Three stations would continue to be operated by Young themselves: San Francisco's KRON-TV, Knoxville's WATE-TV, and Lansing's WLNS-TV. Gray already owns and operates stations in the latter two markets; not having them operate WATE and WLNS would resolve fears of one entity owning (potentially or otherwise) two top-rated stations in the same market, something that is forbidden by the FCC.[9][10]
Young's unsecured creditors were against the company's reorganization plans from the outset, but their attempts to halt those plans and submit their own alternatives were rejected by bankruptcy judge Arthur Gonzalez in April and May 2010, allowing the secured creditors to proceed with reorganization under a new company, "New Young Broadcasting Holding Co."[11][12]
On June 24, 2010, Young released a statement indicating that the company (now referring to themselves as New Young Broadcasting) had transferred from publicly traded status to private ownership by its former senior lenders, shedding "nearly $800 million in debt and millions of dollars of burdensome contracts" during its bankruptcy.[13][14] (The company still trades on a limited basis on the pink sheets as of November 2010.) Gray Television now manages the Young-owned stations as planned (see "TV Station Portfolio" below), though New Young's board still has final say on all station matters, including programming and personnel.[15] Gray's deal to manage the stations expires on December 31, 2012, though Gray has considered purchasing the New Young stations if and when they are put on the market.[16][17] (Young could not officially run the Young stations until after Young's bankruptcy was finalized and license transfers to new ownership occurred, though they did collect a management fee from Young while sitting on the sidelines.)[18]
In August 2010, Vincent Young stepped down as New Young Broadcasting's CEO, though he still holds the title of non-Executive Chairman of the Board; Chief Financial Officer Jim Morgan left the company in October 2010.[19] The web address of the former Young Broadcasting (www.youngbroadcasting.com) has been taken down and, as of November 2010, shows the former Young logo and a "Site Currently Under Construction" message; there is no current website for New Young Broadcasting.
TV Station Portfolio
Note: Stations highlighted in blue are those that are managed by Gray Television
Current DMA#Market Station Digital Virtual Current Affiliation
(branding, where applicable, in parentheses)Year Acquired Notes #6San Francisco, CA KRON-TV 38 4 4.1 & 4.2: MyNetworkTV
4.3: Traffic info2000 Young's flagship station. Was NBC until becoming independent on 1/1/2002; joined MyNetworkTV on 9/5/2006. #29Nashville, TN WKRN-TV 27 2 2.1: ABC
2.2: Weather (Nashville WX Channel)1989 #56Albany, NY WTEN 26 10 10.1: ABC
10.2: Weather (News 10 Storm Tracker Weather Channel)
10.3: RTV1989 Adams, MA WCDC-TV 36 19 ABC 1989 Satellite of WTEN #58Knoxville, TN WATE-TV 26 6 ABC 1993 #59Richmond, VA WRIC-TV 22 8 ABC 1993 #70Green Bay, WI WBAY-TV 23 2 2.1: ABC
2.2: Weather (StormCenter 2 24/7)
2.3: RTV (RTV 2-3)1993 #96Davenport, IA KWQC-TV 36 6 6.1: NBC
6.2: Weather (KWQC 24-7 Weather Channel)1995 #112Lansing, MI WLNS-TV 36 6 6.1: CBS
6.2: The Country Network1986 First station purchased by Young (with WKBT); operates Venture Technologies Group-owned WHTV via JSA #114Sioux Falls, SD KELO-TV 32 11 11.1: CBS (KELOLAND Television)
11.2: MyNetworkTV (My UTV)
11.3: weather1996 Florence, SD KDLO 3 3 3.1: CBS (KELOLAND Television)
3.2: MyNetworkTV (My UTV)
3.3: weather1996 Satellite of KELO-TV Reliance, SD KPLO 13 6 6.1: CBS (KELOLAND Television)
6.2: MyNetworkTV (My UTV)
6.3: weather1996 Satellite of KELO-TV #123Lafayette, LA KLFY 10 10 CBS 1988 #175Rapid City, SD KCLO 16 15 15.1: CBS (KELOLAND Television)
15.2: weather1996 Satellite of KELO-TV Formerly Owned Stations
Market Station Digital (Virtual) Affiliation Year Purchased Year Sold (Buyer) Current Status Los Angeles, CA KCAL-TV 9 (9) Independent 1996 2002 (CBS Corporation) Owned & Operated by CBS Corporation
(Duopoly with KCBS-TV)Rockford, IL WTVO 16 (17) NBC, ABC 1986 2004 (Mission Broadcasting) Owned by Mission Broadcasting
(Controlled by Nexstar-owned WQRF)La Crosse, WI WKBT 8 (8) CBS 1986 1999 (Morgan Murphy Media) Owned and operated by Morgan Murphy Media References
- ^ http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/11/17/daily43.html
- ^ "Young Eyes Watershed Sale at Stations Auction", from Broadcasting & Cable, 7/13/2009
- ^ http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090127005778&newsLang=en
- ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/6262997.html
- ^ "Young Files for Chapter 11", from televisionbroadcast.com, posted 3/4/2009
- ^ "KRON parent Young Broadcasting cancels auction", from San Francisco Business Times, 7/15/2009
- ^ "Young Broadcasting Calls Off Auction", from broadcastingcable.com 7/14/2009
- ^ "Bankruptcy Judge Signs Off on Young Deal", from broadcastingcable.com, 7/30/2009
- ^ "Banks' Bid on Young Stations Clears Hurdle", from broadcastingcable.com, 7/22/2009.
- ^ "Gray Gets Nod to Manage Young Stations", from tvnewsday.com, 7/22/2009
- ^ "Judge Approves Young’s Reorganization Plan", from televisionbroadcast.com, posted 4/20/2010
- ^ "Judge Reaffirms Young Broadcasting Reorganization Plan", from televisionbroadcast.com, posted 5/11/2010
- ^ "Young Broadcasting Erases $800 Million Debt in Completed Reorganization", from televisionbroadcast.com, 6/25/2010
- ^ "Young Broadcasting Inc. Announcement on Restructuring", as posted on marketwatch.com 6/24/2010
- ^ "Who's Really Running Young Broadcasting?" from tvnewscheck.com, 2/1/2011
- ^ "Gray to manage most Young stations", from rbr.com 7/22/2009
- ^ "Gray Sees Young Stations As Possible Buy", from tvnewscheck.com, 3/1/2011
- ^ "Gray TV Deal Not Getting Any Young-er", from Broadcasging & Cable, 6/14/2010
- ^ "Vincent Young Steps Down As New Young Broadcasting CEO", from mediapost.com, 8/22/2010
External links
- The former Young Broadcasting web site, "under construction" as of August 2011
- Adam Young, Inc. web site
Key people Adam Young (founder) · Vincent J. Young (chairman) · Deborah A. McDermott (president) · Peter Grazioli (CIO)ABC network affiliates CBS network affiliates MyNetworkTV network affiliates: NBC network affiliate: Local weather channels 1Broadcasts Retro Television Network on a digital subchannel
2Owned by Venture Technologies Group and managed by WLNS under a JSAWebsite: youngbroadcasting.com
Categories:- Companies listed on NASDAQ
- Television broadcasting companies of the United States
- Companies based in New York City
- Companies that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Companies established in 1986
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