FCC OKs sale of KHON to New Vision
The $330 million sale of KHON-TV and its mainland sister stations has been approved by the Federal Communications Commission.
The commission has approved transfers of the stations' broadcast licenses from California-based
Montecito Broadcast Group LLC to
New Vision Television LLC with corporate offices in Georgia and California.
"We're very excited to be able to operate in Hawaii," said John Heinen, president and chief operating officer. "We think 'kay-hon' is a tremendous station," citing its brand in the market and a "great history of news and localism."
Heinen and his colleagues are looking forward, not just to the necessity of flying to Hawaii on business, but to "find(ing) a way to enhance the station, work(ing) with the community and work(ing) with the employees to figure out how to make the station better," he said.
New Vision chairman and CEO Jason Elkin told the Star-Bulletin in July that the company may add people, in contrast to Montecito, which announced plans to cut dozens of jobs prior to its taking over ownership. Its tumultuous tenure began with the exodus of all but one senior manager.
New Vision's private equity backing came from HBK Capital Management. A 14-page document filed with the FCC last month lists HBK NV LLC, a Delaware corporation, as 97 percent owner of New Vision.
Montecito's $259 million purchase a year and a half ago was made with support from Blackstone Group.
Both Montecito and New Vision are reported, in industry publications, to have paid 14-times cash flow for the stations.
KHON'S NEW SIBLINGS
New Vision's other stations:
Station/affiliation(s) |
Market |
Market rank |
WIAT (CBS) |
Birmingham, Ala. |
40 |
WJCL (ABC) |
Savannah, Ga. |
97 |
WTGS (FOX) |
Savannah, Ga. |
97(a) |
WKBN (CBS) |
Youngstown, Ohio |
103 |
WYFX (FOX) |
Youngstown, Ohio |
103 |
WYTV (ABC/MYTV) |
Youngstown, Ohio |
103(b) |
KIMT (CBS/MYTV) |
Mason, Iowa |
153 |
(a) Technically licensed to Hardeeville, So. Carolina under Parkin Broadcasting of Savannah License LLC. It is operated under a shared service agreement with New Vision.
(b) Technically licensed to Parkin Broadcasting of Youngstown License LLC and operated under a shared service agreement with New Vision.
Sources: www.newvisiontv.com, FCC online database.