Fisher Communications

Fisher Communications, Inc. was a media company in the United States. Based in Seattle, Washington, the company primarily owned a number of radio and television stations in the Western United States. It was the last company in the Seattle area to own a local TV station before being acquired by Sinclair Broadcast Group in 2013. Prior to 2001, it was a conglomerate with businesses in broadcasting, flour milling and real estate.

Fisher Communications, Inc.

Formerly	Fisher Companies Inc. (1971-2001)
Company type	Public
Traded as	Nasdaq: FSCI
Industry	Broadcasting, Television, Radio
Predecessor	Fisher Flouring Mills Co.
Founded	1910; 115 years ago (1910) (as Fisher Flouring Mills Co.) 1971; 54 years ago (1971) (as Fisher Companies)
Defunct	August 8, 2013 (2013-8-8)
Fate	Acquired by Sinclair
Successor	Sinclair Broadcast Group
Headquarters	Seattle, Washington, United States
Key people	Colleen Brown (president & CEO) Michael D. Wortsman (chair) Robert I. (Rob) Dunlop (EVP & Ops)[1]
Revenue	$164.0M ( 6.8%) 2011[1]
Net income	$36.4M ( 273.8%) 2011[1]
Number of employees	784 (5.3%) 2011[1]

Before they were in broadcasting, the Fisher fortune rested on the Fisher Flour Mill on Seattle's Harbor Island, founded 1910.

Fisher Plaza, the company's headquarters.

History

See also KNWN (AM)

Fisher Companies, Inc.'s Fisher Communications by 1998 owned 25 radio stations and 2 TV stations. Fisher Companies also owned a flour milling and food distribution company and real estate development subsidiary.^[2]

In 1999 Retlaw Enterprises (a company owned by the relatives of Walt Disney) sold its remaining 11 television stations to Fisher Communications, including all of the related assets to those properties^[3] for $215 million in cash.^[2] Its broadcasting unit, until the 2000s, was Fisher Broadcasting. Also that year, Fisher is launching its own entertainment division, Fisher Entertainment, to be headed by Alan Winters, a syndication executive.^[4]

Fisher began to sell many of its properties in the mid-2000s, including real estate, its longtime flour milling operation, and its stake in Safeco.^[5][6] By 2011, Fisher Communications was down to 10 radio stations.^[1] On April 11, 2013, Fisher (which by then owned 20 television stations and only three radio stations) announced that it would be acquired by the Sinclair Broadcast Group.^[5] However, the deal was subject to financial scrutiny; the law firm Levi & Korsinsky notified Fisher shareholders with accusations that Fisher's board of directors were breaching fiduciary duties by "failing to adequately shop the Company before agreeing to enter into the transaction", and Sinclair was underpaying for Fisher's stock.^[7] Shortly after the announcement, a lawsuit was filed by a Fisher shareholder;^[8] the suit was settled in July 2013,^[9] on August 6 Fisher's shareholders approved the merger.^[10] The FCC granted its approval of the sale of August 7.^[11] On August 8, Sinclair announced that the sale was completed.^[12]

Former stations

• Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license.
• Two boldface asterisks appearing following a station's call letters (**) indicate a station built and signed on by Fisher Communications.

Stations owned by Fisher Communications

Media market	State	Station	Purchased	Sold	Notes
Bakersfield	California	KBAK-TV	2008	2013
		KBFX-CD	2008	2013
Fresno–Visalia		KJEO	1999	2000
Augusta	Georgia	WFXG	1999	2003
Columbus		WXTX	1999	2003
Boise	Idaho	KBOI-TV	1999	2013
		KYUU-LD	2006	2013
Idaho Falls–Pocatello		KIDK	1999	2013
		KXPI-LD	2006	2013
Lewiston		KLEW-TV	1999	2013	[A]
Billings	Montana	KBLG	1994	2006
		KRKX	1994	2006
		KRZN **	1998	2006
		KYYA	1994	2006
Butte		KAAR	1994	2006
		KMBR	1994	2006
		KXTL	1994	2006
Great Falls		KAAK	1994	2011
		KIKF **	2001	2011
		KINX **	2002	2011
		KQDI	2001	2011
		KQDI-FM	2001	2011
		KXGF	1994	2011
Missoula		KBQQ	2003	2006
		KGGL	1994	2006
		KGRZ	1994	2006
		KXDR	1998	2006
		KYLT	1991	2006
		KZOQ-FM	1996	2006
Bend	Oregon	KABH-CA	2006	2013	[B][a]
Coos Bay		KCBY-TV	1999	2013	[C]
		KMCB	2013	2013	[D][a]
Eugene		KVAL-TV	1999	2013
		KMTR	2013	2013	[a]
Portland		KATU **	1962	2013
		KOTK	1996	2003
		KUNP	2006	2013
		KWJJ-FM	1996	2003
Roseburg		KPIC	1999	2013	[C]
		KTCW	2013	2013	[D][a]
Ellensburg	Washington	KWWA-CA	2007	2008	[E]
Kennewick		KVVK-CD	2007	2013	[E]
Pasco		KEPR-TV	1999	2013	[A]
Seattle–Tacoma		KOMO **	1926	2013
		KOMO-FM	2009	2013	[a]
		KOMO-TV **	1953	2013
		KPLZ-FM	1994	2013
		KUNS-TV	2006	2013
		KVI	1994	2013
Wenatchee		KAPP	1994	2006	[b]
		KWWW-FM	1992	2006
		KWWX	1992	2006
		KYSN	1994	2006
		KZPH	1997	2006
Yakima		KIMA-TV	1999	2013
		KUNW-CD	2007	2013
Walla Walla		KORX-CA	2007	2013	[E]

1. Owned by a third party and operated by Fisher.
2. Known as KXAA prior to 2000.

1. Semi-satellite of KIMA.
2. Satellite of KUNP.
3. Satellite of KVAL.
4. Satellite of KMTR.
5. Satellite of KUNW.

Contract dispute

On December 17, 2008, Fisher Communications' contract expired with Dish Network. As a result of this contract dispute, stations owned by Fisher Communications were no longer available to Dish Network subscribers. Dish Network claimed that Fisher is asking for over an 80% increase.^[13] The Fisher stations that returned to Dish Network are: KOMO and KUNS in Seattle.; KATU and KUNP in Portland.; KIMA in Yakima, Washington.; KVAL in Eugene, Oregon.; KBCI (now KBOI) in Boise, Idaho; KIDK in Idaho Falls, Idaho; and KBAK and KBFX in Bakersfield, California. Dish Network restored the service to their customers at 10:25 p.m. PST on June 10.^[14]