CBS Television Stations will purchase New York station WLNY, giving it a duopoly in the country's biggest media market, CBS announced Monday.
Terms of the deak to buy the independent station, channel 55, were not disclosed. The purchase will give CBS ownership of both WCBS-TV (channel 2), and WLNY, whose cal letters stand for We Love New York.
"The combined strengths of CBS 2 and WLNY-TV will give us a terrific platform for serving the entire New York area," said Peter Dunn, president of CBS Television Stations.
CBS' plans for WLNY included adding people and resources to its local news coverage to take it beyond the nightly half-hour it now airs, he said.
"And, of course, in doing so we will continue to honor the station’s already deep commitment to serving the people of Long Island and the entire tri-state area," Dunn said. "We also look forward to having a bigger and better news bureau on Long Island that will be a terrific resource for WCBS."
WLNY is distributed by cable, satellite and other service providers in parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. It appears as either Channel 10 or Channel 55 on most channel lineups and as Channel 55 as an over-the-air service.
Here's the release:
New York, December 12, 2011 – CBS Television Stations, a division of CBS Corporation, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase independent New York television station WLNY-TV (Channel 55). Terms of the agreement with the seller, WLNY Holdings, Inc., were not disclosed. The acquisition of WLNY-TV (whose call letters stand for We Love New York), along with WCBS-TV (CBS 2), will give CBS a duopoly in the nation’s largest media market.
“Our acquisition of WLNY-TV presents a tremendous opportunity for our TV Stations Division,” said Peter Dunn, President, CBS Television Stations. “The combined strengths of CBS 2 and WLNY-TV will give us a terrific platform for serving the entire New York area. Our plans for the station include adding people and resources to fuel a significant expansion of local news programming well beyond the nightly half-hour that currently airs. And, of course, in doing so we will continue to honor the station’s already deep commitment to serving the people of Long Island and the entire tri-state area. We also look forward to having a bigger and better news bureau on Long Island that will be a terrific resource for WCBS.”
“We look forward to leveraging our CBS Local Media assets, including CBS 2, CBS RADIO and CBSNewYork.com, plus CBS Outdoor and CBS Television Distribution, which already provides many of WLNY’s most-popular syndicated programs, to promote and broaden the appeal of WLNY throughout the tri-state area and drive ratings and revenue growth,” said Anton Guitano, Chief Operating Officer, CBS Local Media.
“WLNY-TV is a perfect fit for CBS as it will enhance its position as a forward-thinking entertainment and news organization,” said David Feinblatt, President, WLNY-TV.
WLNY-TV is widely distributed by cable, satellite and other subscription television service providers in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state area. The station appears as either Channel 10 or Channel 55 on most channel lineups and Channel 55 as an over-the-air service.
Once the acquisition of WLNY-TV has been finalized, CBS will own duopolies in 10 markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Miami, Sacramento and Pittsburgh. Currently, the CBS Television Stations group includes 28 stations, including 16 that are part of the CBS Television Network, eight affiliates of The CW Network, two independent stations and two MyNetworkTV affiliates.
The transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory and other approvals.
