Northwest Broadcasting

Northwest Broadcasting, Inc. was a television broadcasting company based in Okemos, Michigan, United States, a suburb of Lansing. The broadcasting group owned or operated twelve television stations in six markets, through subsidiaries such as Broadcasting Communications, Mountain Communications, Stainless Broadcasting, and Bristlecone Broadcasting.^[1]

Northwest Broadcasting, Inc.

Company type	Private
Founded	1995; 29 years ago (1995)
Defunct	December 17, 2019; 4 years ago (2019-12-17)
Fate	Acquired by Cox Media Group
Successor	Cox Media Group
Headquarters	Okemos, Michigan, U.S.
Key people	Brian Brady (President & CEO)

History

Northwest Broadcasting was founded in 1995 by Brian Brady to acquire the television stations of Salmon River Communications, including KAYU-TV in Spokane, Washington, K68EB in Yakima, Washington, KBWU-LP in the Tri-Cities (Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, Washington), and KMVU in Medford, Oregon.^[2] In 1997, Northwest purchased Stainless, Inc. for $17 million; while Stainless was primarily a manufacturer of broadcasting towers, the purchase also added WICZ-TV in Binghamton, New York and KTVZ in Bend, Oregon to Northwest's station group.^[3][4] Stainless had owned broadcast stations since purchasing WICZ (then known as WINR-TV) in 1971.^[5] Though Northwest would sell the Stainless tower company to SpectraSite Holdings in 1999^[6] and KTVZ to News-Press & Gazette Company in 2002,^[7] it still owns WICZ-TV under the Stainless Broadcasting Company name.

Brian Brady expanded his broadcast holdings in 2002, when he teamed up with Alta Communications to acquire the K-Six Television stations under the name Eagle Creek Broadcasting;^[8] Alta had also invested in Northwest Broadcasting in 1996.^[9] Alta divested its interest in Northwest Broadcasting in 2007^[10] and in Eagle Creek Broadcasting in 2013.^[11] During the 2010s, Brady acquired additional stations through companies such as Blackhawk Broadcasting,^[12] Bristlecone Broadcasting,^[13] and Cedar Creek Broadcasting.^[14] These companies have occasionally made joint filings with Northwest Broadcasting in Federal Communications Commission proceedings under the name "The TV Station Group."^[15]

In February 2019, Reuters reported that Apollo Global Management had agreed to acquire the entirety of Brian Brady's television portfolio, which it intends to merge with Cox Media Group (which Apollo is acquiring at the same time) and stations spun off from Nexstar Media Group's purchase of Tribune Broadcasting, once the purchases are approved by the FCC.^[16] In March 2019 filings with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Apollo confirmed that its newly-formed broadcasting group, Terrier Media, would acquire Northwest Broadcasting, with Brian Brady holding an unspecified minority interest in Terrier.^[17] In June 2019, it was announced that Terrier Media would instead operate as Cox Media Group, as Apollo had reached a deal to also acquire Cox's radio and advertising businesses.^[18] The transaction was completed on December 17.^[19]

Former stations

Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license.

City of license / Market	Station	Channel	Years owned	Current status
Yuma, AZ–El Centro, CA	KYMA-DT	11	2014-2019[a]	Defunct, license surrendered in 2020[b]
	KSWT	13	2014-2019[a]	CBS/NBC affiliate KYMA-DT, owned by Imagicomm Communications[c]
Eureka, CA	KIEM-TV	3	2017–2019	NBC affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
	KVIQ	17	2016–2017	Defunct, went dark in 2018,[20][21] license cancelled in 2020[22][d]
	KVIQ-LD	14	2016–2019	CBS affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
Pocatello–Idaho Falls, ID	KPVI-DT	6	2016–2019	NBC affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
Twin Falls, ID	KXTF	35	2016–2017	Tri-State Christian Television owned-and-operated (O&O)
Bowling Green, KY	WKNT/WNKY	40	1997–2003[e]	NBC affiliate owned by Marquee Broadcasting
Alexandria, LA	KLAX-TV	31	2018–2019	ABC affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
	KWCE-LP	27	2018–2019	Defunct, license surrendered in 2021
Greenville–Greenwood, MS	WABG-TV	6	2016–2019	ABC affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
	WFXW	15	2016–2019[f]	Tri-State Christian Television owned-and-operated (O&O)
	WNBD-LD	33	2016–2019	NBC affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
	WXVT-LD	17	2017–2019	CBS affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
Binghamton, NY	WICZ-TV	40	1997–2019	Fox affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
	WBPN-LP	10	2000–2019	Defunct, license surrendered in 2021
Syracuse, NY	WSYT	68	2013–2019	Fox affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
	WNYS-TV	43	2013–2019[g]	Defunct, license surrendered in 2020[h]
Bend, OR	KTVZ	21	1997–2002	NBC affiliate owned by News-Press & Gazette Company
Medford, OR	KMVU-DT	26	1995–2019	Fox affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
	KMCW-LP	14	2013–2016	Defunct, license cancelled in 2016
	KFBI-LD	48	2013–2019	MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
Corpus Christi, TX	KZTV	10	2002–2010[i]	CBS affiliate owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting[j]
Laredo, TX	KVTV	13	2002–2015[i]	Defunct, went dark in 2015[k]
	KNEX-LP	14	2012–2015[i]	CBS affiliate KYLX-LD channel 13, owned by Gray Television
Spokane, WA	KAYU-TV	28	1996–2019	Fox affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
Tri-Cities–Yakima, WA	KFFX-TV	11	1999–2019[l]	Fox affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
	KCYU-LD[A]	41	1996–2019	Fox affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications
Walla Walla, WA	KBKI	9	2001–2002	Defunct, went dark in 2008 as KCWK

Notes

1. Semi-satellite of KFFX-TV.

1. Owned by Blackhawk Broadcasting, which was commonly owned with Northwest Broadcasting. Throughout Northwest's ownership, both stations were operated by News-Press & Gazette Company (owner of KECY-TV) under a shared services agreement.
2. Intellectual unit and NBC programming moved to a subchannel of Cox Media Group-owned license and renamed KYMA-DT.
3. Operated through an SSA by News-Press & Gazette Company.
4. Callsign changed to KJRW prior to the shutdown; intellectual unit and CBS programming transferred to a Northwest Broadcasting-owned license and renamed KVIQ-LD.^[23]
5. Operated by Northwest Broadcasting under a local marketing agreement with Southeastern Communications from 1997 until Northwest bought the station outright in 2000.
6. An unused channel owned by John Wagner; Northwest Broadcasting operated the station under a local marketing agreement.
7. Operated by Northwest Broadcasting operates the station under a local marketing agreement with RKM Media & Syracuse Broadcasting, from 2013 until Northwest bought the station outright in 2018.
8. Intellectual unit and MyNetworkTV programming moved to a subchannel of WSYT.
9. Owned by Eagle Creek Broadcasting, which was commonly owned with Northwest Broadcasting.
10. Operated through an SSA by the E. W. Scripps Company,
11. Intellectual unit and CBS programming transferred to a Gray Television-owned license and renamed KYLX-LD.
12. Operated by Northwest Broadcasting under a local marketing agreement with Communication Properties from its 1999 sign-on until Northwest bought the station outright in 2003.

References

1. "Organizational Chart for Northwest Broadcasting, Inc" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. November 25, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
2. "Michigan investor buys KAYU TV". The Spokesman-Review. August 2, 1995. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
3. Kanaley, Reid (May 18, 1997). "Digital TV: It's A High-Tower Act". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015. …Stainless, which owns UHF stations in Binghamton, N.Y., and Bend, Ore., is being sold to a Detroit-based partnership, Northwest Broadcasting, said Stainless counsel James J. Heffernan of Plymouth Meeting. He said the deal is worth $17 million.
4. "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. May 19, 1997. p. 38. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
5. "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 8, 1971. p. 37. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
6. "SpectraSite Holdings, Inc. Form 8-K" (TXT). Securities and Exchange Commission. January 21, 2000. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
7. BIA Financial Networks (March 24, 2002). "Changing Hands". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
8. BIA Financial Networks (February 3, 2002). "Changing Hands". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
9. "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. January 29, 1996. pp. 32–3. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
10. "Transactions: 08-29-07". Television Business Report. August 29, 2007. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
11. "Station Trading Roundup: 5 Deals, $23 Million". TVNewsCheck. November 5, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
12. "Brady doubles down in Yuma". Television Business Report. July 24, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
13. Herbert, Geoff (November 19, 2013). "Ownership changes at Syracuse TV stations approved by FCC". The Post-Standard. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
14. "Cedar Creek Buying WRBU, WZRB For $6M". TVNewsCheck. February 3, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
15. "Informal Objection and Request to Hold Applications in Abeyance" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
16. "EXCLUSIVE-Apollo nears $3 billion deal to buy Cox TV stations -sources" from CNBC (February 10, 2019)
17. Jessell, Harry A. (March 6, 2019). "Cox TV Valued At $3.1 Billion In Apollo Acquisition". TV News Check. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
18. Jacobson, Adam (June 26, 2019). "It's Official: Cox Radio, Gamut, CoxReps Going To Apollo". Radio & Television Business Report. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
19. "Cox Enterprises Announces Close of Cox Media Group Sale to Affiliates of Apollo Global Management", prnewswire.com, December 17, 2019, Retrieved December 17, 2019.
20. Suspension of Operations and Silent Authority of a DTV Station Application. Licensing and Management System, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved September 23, 2018
21. Station Search Details - KJRW CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved September 16, 2018.
22. Kreisman, Barbara A. "Re: Request for Reinstatement and Extension of License Under Section 312(g)" (PDF). Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
23. Redwood Television Closes On KIEM Buy, TVNewsCheck.com, December 4, 2017, Retrieved September 16, 2018