Bonten Media Group
Bonten Media Group was a New York City-based owner of television broadcast stations in the United States. It was formed by Randall D. Bongarten and Diamond Castle Holdings in November 2006. Its first acquisition was 14 stations from Bluestone Television, founded by Sandy DiPasquale and Providence Equity Partners (who would later form Newport Television) on May 31, 2007.[1][2] Bluestone had acquired the same stations from Lamco Communications in 2004.[3] On January 1, 2008, Bonten entered into an agreement with Esteem Broadcasting to provide services to the Fox affiliates (WFXI/WYDO) in the Greenville-New Bern market, in addition to WEMT in the Tri-Cities area of Northeastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia, bringing the number of stations which Bonten Media Group owns or provides services up to 16 from 13.
 | |
| Private Limited liability company | |
| Industry | Broadcast Television |
| Fate | Acquired by Sinclair |
| Predecessor | 14 stations from Bluestone Television |
| Successor | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Founded | November 2006 |
| Founders | Randall D. Bongarten Diamond Castle Holdings |
| Defunct | September 1, 2017 |
| Headquarters | Empire State Building, , |
| Parent | Diamond Castle Holdings |
On April 21, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced its intent to purchase the Bonten stations for $240 million. The deal came immediately following the re-instatement of the "UHF discount", which reduces the calculated "reach" of a station for the purposes of national ownership limits if it broadcasts on a UHF channel.[4] The sale was approved on June 30,[5] and the sale was completed on September 1.[6][7][8][9]
Former Bonten Media-owned stations
Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license.
| City of license / Market | Station | Channel TV (RF) |
Years owned | Current ownership status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redding - Chico - Paradise, California |
KRCR-TV | 7 (7) | 2007–2017 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| KXVU-LP | 17 | 2012–2017 | Antenna TV affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| KCVU | 20 (20) | 2012–2017 1 | Fox affiliate owned by Cunningham Broadcasting (Operated through a SSA by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | |
| KRVU-LD | 21 (21) | 2012–2017 | MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| KZVU-LD (Satellite of KRVU-LD) |
22 (22) | 2012–2017 | MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| KUCO-LP | 27 | 2012–2017 | Univision affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| KKTF-LD | 30 (30) | 2012–2017 | UniMás affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| Arcata - Eureka, California | KAEF-TV (Semi-satellite of KRCR) |
23 (22) | 2007–2017 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| KBVU (Semi-satellite of KCVU) |
28 (28) | 2012–2017 1 | Fox affiliate owned by Cunningham Broadcasting (Operated through a SSA by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | |
| KECA-LD | 29 (29) | 2012–2017 | The CW affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| KEUV-LP | 31 | 2012–2017 | Univision affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| Missoula, Montana | KECI-TV | 13 (13) | 2007–2017 | NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Kalispell, Montana | KCFW-TV (Semi-satellite of KECI) |
9 (9) | 2007–2017 | NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Butte, Montana | KTVM-TV (Semi-satellite of KECI) |
6 (6) | 2007–2017 | NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Bozeman, Montana | KDBZ-CD (Satellite of KTVM) |
42 (42) | 2007–2017 | NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Greenville - New Bern - Morehead City, North Carolina |
WFXI | 8 (8) | 2007–2017 1 | defunct, station signed off in 2017. |
| WYDO (Satellite of WFXI) |
14 (47) | 2007–2017 1 | Fox affiliate owned by Cunningham Broadcasting (Operated through a SSA by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | |
| WCTI-TV | 12 (12) | 2007–2017 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| Abilene, Texas | KTXS-TV | 12 (12) | 2007–2017 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| KTES-LD | 40 (40) | 2007–2017 | MeTV affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| San Angelo, Texas | KTXE-LD (Satellite of KTXS) |
38 (38) | 2007–2017 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Bristol, Virginia - Greeneville - Johnson City -Kingsport, Tennessee |
WCYB-TV | 5 (5) | 2007–2017 | NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| WEMT | 39 (38) | 2007–2017 1 | Fox affiliate owned by Cunningham Broadcasting (Operated through a SSA by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | |
Note:
- 1 Owned by Esteem Broadcasting, LLC, Bonten operated these stations through a shared services agreement.
See also
References
- DiPasquale moving Wichita business to Kansas City, Wichita Business Journal, 3 August 2007, Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- BlueStone Television to Acquire Lamco Communications, BusinessWire.com, 14 January 2014, Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- Former KWCH owner buys 12 stations, makes Wichita base, Wichita Business Journal, 25 January 2004, Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- "Sinclair Buying Bonten Stations For $240M". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- FCC Approves Sinclair-Bonten Deal, Broadcasting & Cable, 30 June, 2017, Retrieved 30 June, 2017.
- Sinclair Closes On Acquisition Of Bonten Media Group Holdings, Inc., Sinclair Broadcast Group, 5 September, 2017, Retrieved 6 September, 2017.
- Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved 6 September, 2017.
- Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved 6 September, 2017.
- Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved 6 September, 2017.