LIN TV

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LIN TV Corporation
Type Public (NYSETVL)
Founded 1997
Headquarters Providence, Rhode Island
Area served United States (Nationwide)
Key people Vincent Sadusky, CEO
Industry Broadcast Television
Television Production
Products Broadcast television
Revenue $443.5 million USD
Operating income $247.44 million USD
Net income $274.5 million USD
Employees 2,414 (full time)
Website www.lintv.com

LIN TV Corporation is an American holding company that operates 31 television stations.

LIN TV's roots trace back to the founding of its former parent, LIN Broadcasting Corporation, in the mid 1960s. LIN Broadcasting was engaged in radio, television, direct marketing, information and learning, music publishing, and record labels. LIN takes its initials from three major cities where it originally owned radio stations: Louisville, Indianapolis and Nashville (all located on Interstate 65).

LIN Broadcasting made acquisitions in broadcasting, expanded into paging, and in the early 1980s the company entered the fledgling cellular telephone business. By 1983 the company owned seven television stations and by 1985 it owned and managed cellular telephone licenses serving Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and Philadelphia. LIN Broadcasting sold its paging operations and six of its radio stations in 1986 to help finance the development of its cellular business.

LIN Television's Chief Executive Officer is Vincent L. Sadusky. Sadusky had formerly been LIN's Chief Financial Officer as well as Vice President and treasurer since 2004, and previously was CFO for Telemundo, working closely on its sale to GE/NBC. Sadusky had been interim CEO since former Chairman Gary R. Chapman announced his impending retirement in June 2006, and through the company's search for a permanent replacement. He was officially installed as CEO upon Chapman's official retirement on July 10, 2006. [1]

In March 1990, McCaw Cellular Communications purchased a 52% interest in LIN Broadcasting. McCaw was acquired by AT&T in 1994, after which LIN Broadcastings television operations were spun off as a public company traded on the NASDAQ stock market and 45%-owned by AT&T. The new company, LIN Television Corporation, owned and/or operated 12 stations and its stock price increased at a compounded annual growth rate of 31% between 1994 and 1998. During this period LIN acquired WIVB-TV in Buffalo, New York and WTNH-TV in New Haven, Connecticut.

In March 1998, LIN Television was acquired by Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Incorporated (HMTF), a leading private investment firm based in Dallas, Texas. At the time of the HMTF acquisition, LIN contributed its Dallas NBC affiliate to a joint venture with the network that also holds the San Diego affiliate. Under HMTFs ownership, LIN Television has grown considerably through a wide range of transactions:

In June 1999, LIN acquired WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a station to which it had been providing consulting services for a number of years.

In August, LIN helped finance the establishment of Banks Broadcasting, a minority-owned television broadcast company in which it holds a 50% interest. Today, Banks owns the CW Television Network affiliate KNIN-TV in Boise, Idaho.

LIN purchased WAPA-TV in San Juan, Puerto Rico in October. In April 2000, LIN acquired WLFI-TV, serving Lafayette, Indiana in exchange for 66% of its station WAND-TV in Decatur, Illinois. LIN continued to provide management oversight for WAND for several years after the swap was completed.

LIN purchased WWLP-TV in Springfield, Massachusetts in 2000. In 2001, LIN acquired WJPX and two satellite facilities in Puerto Rico, and WNLO-TV in Buffalo.

The company exercised and closed on options to purchase WOTV-TV in Battle Creek, Michigan and WVBT-TV in Norfolk, Virginia, both stations that it had already managed, in January 2002.

In February, LIN agreed to acquire seven stations in six markets from STC Broadcasting. The transaction of the stations was completed in May. Also in May, LIN TV Corp. completed the issuance of 19.55 million shares of Class A Common Stock through its Initial Public Offering on the New York Stock Exchange.

In December 2002, LIN TV announced the sale of two television stations in Abilene and San Angelo, Texas. This was followed in January 2004 by the sale of a station in Flint, Michigan.

In late August 2005, LIN purchased several stations from Emmis Communications, the stations purchased were WALA and WBPG in Mobile, Alabama, WTHI-TV in Terre Haute, Indiana, KRQE in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and WLUK in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In July 2006, LIN announced the planned purchase a second station in New Mexico, KASA-TV, from Raycom Media.

In May, 2006, LIN TV announced the sale of Puerto Rico stations WAPA-TV and WJPX to InterMedia Partners, L.P. for $130 million.[2]

On May 18, 2007, LIN TV announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives that could result in the sale of the company.[3]

In Novermber 2007, LIN TV completed the sale of its share of WAND to Block Communications. With this sale, LIN TV no longer manages the station.

TV stations Owned and/or Operated by LIN

Current DMA# Market Station Channel (DT) Current Affiliation Acquired Notes
26. Indianapolis, Indiana WISH-TV 8 (9) CBS 1984 Ex-flagship
WNDY-TV 23 (32) MyNetworkTV 2005 Licensed to Marion, Indiana
WIIH-CA 17 Univision ca 2000 Simulcasted WISH's weather radar until 2003
29. New Haven, Connecticut WTNH 8 (10) ABC 1994
WCTX 59 (39) MyNetworkTV 2001 Operated by LIN since 1995
32. Columbus, Ohio WWHO 53 (46) CW 2005 Licensed to Chillicothe, Ohio
Was UPN/WB until Sept. 2006
39. Grand Rapids, Michigan WOOD-TV 8 (7) NBC 1999
Battle Creek, Michigan WOTV 41 (20) ABC 2001 LMA'd by LIN for several years prior
WXSP-CA 15** MyNetworkTV 2002 ** Simulcasted on:
  • WOBC-CA 14 Battle Creek
  • WOLP-CA 27 Grand Rapids
  • WOMS-CA 29 Muskegon
  • WOHO-CA 33 Holland
  • WOKZ-CA 50 Kalamazoo
  • WOOD-DT 8.2 and WOTV-DT 41.2
42. Norfolk, Virginia WAVY-TV 10 (31) NBC 1968 Licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia
WVBT 43 (29) Fox 2002 Operated by LIN since 1995; licensed to Virginia Beach
44. Albuquerque, New Mexico KRQE 13 (16) CBS 2005
KASA-TV 2 (27) Fox 2007
Roswell, New Mexico KBIM 10 (41) CBS 2005 Satellite of KRQE
Durango, Colorado KREZ 6 (15) CBS 2005 Satellite of KRQE
50. Buffalo, New York WIVB-TV 4 (32) CBS 1995
WNLO 23 (39) CW 2001 Was Independent until 2003; UPN until Sept. 2006
51. Austin, Texas KXAN 36 (21) NBC 1979
KNVA 54 (49) CW (primary)/
MyNetworkTV (secondary)
LMA Operated by LIN since the 1990s.
Was WB until Sept. 2006
KBVO-CA 51 TeleFutura 2001
Llano, Texas KXAM-TV 14 (27) NBC 1987 Satellite of KXAN
52. Providence, Rhode Island WPRI 12 (13) CBS 2002 Flagship
WNAC-TV 64 (54) Fox (primary)/
MyNetworkTV (secondary)
LMA Owned by LIN 2001-02
61. Mobile, Alabama WALA-TV 10 (9) Fox 2005
WBPG 55 (9) CW 2006 Licensed to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Operated by LIN since 2005. Was WB until Sept. 2006
High-definition programming on WALA-DT2 (10.2).
62. Dayton, Ohio WDTN 2 (50) NBC 2002 Was ABC until 2004
70. Green Bay, Wisconsin WLUK-TV 11 (51) Fox 2005
72. Toledo, Ohio WUPW 36 (46) Fox 2002
107. Fort Wayne, Indiana WANE-TV 15 (31) CBS 1984
109. Springfield, Massachusetts WWLP 22 (11) NBC 2000
151. Terre Haute, Indiana WTHI-TV 10 (24) CBS 2005
189. Lafayette, Indiana WLFI-TV 18 (11) CBS 2000 Obtained in exchange for WAND

LIN has partial holdings in three other stations, however LIN does not control these stations:

Former LIN Stations

Market Station Channel Affiliation Owned by LIN Sold To Current Ownership Notes
Abilene, Texas KRBC-TV 9 NBC 2002-2003 Mission Broadcasting Mission Broadcasting Controlled by Nexstar-owned KTAB
Bay City-Flint-Saginaw, Michigan WEYI-TV 25 NBC 2002-2004 Barrington Broadcasting Barrington Broadcasting
Decatur, Illinois WAND 17 NBC 1966-2000 Block Communications Block Communications 33% retained by LIN from 2000 to 2007; was ABC until 2005
Fort Worth-Dallas, Texas KXAS-TV 5 NBC 1975-1998 NBC O&O NBC O&O 24% retained by LIN; ex-flagship
Omaha, Nebraska WOWT 6 NBC 1999-2000 Benedek Broadcasting Gray Television Obtained in a three-way deal with KAKE where it was swapped for WWLP
San Angelo, Texas KACB 3 NBC 2002-2003 Mission Broadcasting Mission Broadcasting Now KSAN-TV; controlled by Nexstar-owned KLST
Wichita, Kansas KAKE-TV 10 ABC 1999-2000 Benedek Broadcasting Gray Television Obtained in a three-way deal with WOWT where it was swapped for WWLP
Colby, Kansas KLBY 4 ABC 1999-2000 Benedek Broadcasting Gray Television Satellite of KAKE-TV
Dodge City, Kansas KUPK 13 ABC 1999-2000 Benedek Broadcasting Gray Television Satellite of KAKE-TV

LIN also previously owned two stations in San Juan, Puerto Rico and their satellite stations across Puerto Rico; they were sold to InterMedia Partners, L.P. in March 2007. The more notable of the two, WAPA, also has a cable feed called WAPA America which is seen on DirecTV, RCN and several cable systems along the East Coast and in St. Croix.

Station Channel (DT) Affiliation Owned by LIN Notes
WAPA-TV 4 (27) Independent 1998-2007 Satellites
WJPX 24 (21) MTV/Local 2001-2007 Satellites

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