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River City Broadcasting L.P. was a major television and radio station operator in mid-sized markets in the United States, based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Overview

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The firm was formed in 1989 as a partnership between Barry Baker and Larry Marcus, both former executives of Koplar Communications in St. Louis who had unsuccessfully tried to buy Koplar's KPLR-TV there.[1] Through a series of acquisitions between 1989 and 1995, River City amassed eight television stations and 29 radio stations in a total of 15 medium-sized markets, but most notably, in 1994, it bought out three network-affiliated TV stations and another four radio stations that were owned by Continental Broadcasting, formerly Anchor Media, including KOVR, WLOS, and WSYX.[2][3] In the summer of 1994, River City and ABC reached an agreement to renew its existing contracts in Columbus and Asheville, while agreeing to affiliate its flagship at that time, and lame duck Fox affiliate KDNL-TV in St. Louis with ABC.[4] The acquisition of Keymarket Communications in 1995 added additional radio stations in the Buffalo, Los Angeles, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, and Scranton–Wilkes-Barre markets.[5][6]

In May 1996, River City sold its stations to the Sinclair Broadcast Group for $1.2 billion.[7][8] The merger moved Sinclair into the top 25 owners of broadcast properties in the United States.[9] Sinclair had to wait to close on some of the purchases; the Upstate South Carolina radio cluster was not acquired until 1998 because it overlapped with WLOS in Asheville, North Carolina, which serves the region.[10]

Former stations

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Stations owned by River City Broadcasting
Media market State Station Purchased Sold Notes
Los AngelesCalifornia KBLA 19951996
Sacramento KOVR 19941997
IndianapolisIndiana WTTV 19911997
WTTK 19911997[a]
Des MoinesIowa KDSM-TV 19911997
St. LouisMissouri KDNL-TV 19891997
KPNT 19911996
WVRV 19901996
New OrleansLouisiana KMEZ 19951996
WSMB 19951996
WLMG 19951996
WWL 19951996
AlbuquerqueNew Mexico KLSK 19941996
KZRR 19941996
KZSS 19941996
BuffaloNew York WBEN 19951996
WKSE 19951996
WMJQ 19951996
WWKB 19951996
AshevilleNorth Carolina WLOS 19941997
ColumbusOhio WSYX 19941997
Wilkes-Barre–ScrantonPennsylvania WGBI 19951996
WGGY 19951996
WILK 19951996
WKRZ 19951996
GreenvilleSouth Carolina WFBC 19951998
WFBC-FM 19951998
WFBC-TV 19941997[b]
WORD 19951998
WSPA 19951998
WSPA-FM 19951998
MemphisTennessee WJCE 19951996
WOGY 19951996
WRVR 19951996
Nashville WLAC 19951996
WJCE-FM 19951996
WLAC-FM 19951996
San AntonioTexas KABB 19891997

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Satellite of WTTV.
  2. ↑ Known as WAXA prior to 1995.

References

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  1. ↑ McWhorter, Darrell (October 11, 1990). "KSTZ's Buyers Put Faith In New Partner". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 7E. Retrieved March 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Continental drifts to River City" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 16, 1994. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  3. ↑ Berger, Jerry (May 10, 1994). "Broadcast Firm Expanding With 7-Station Deal". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. 6C. Retrieved March 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Changing partners in Sacramento". Broadcasting & Cable. August 29, 1994.
  5. ↑ Zier, Julie A. (April 3, 1995). "River City buys Keymarket" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. p. 75.
  6. ↑ "The Year's Biggest Deals" (PDF). Radio & Records. February 2, 1996. p. 12.
  7. ↑ Jacobson, Gianna (April 12, 1996). "Sinclair Buys Radio and TV Stations for $1.2 Billion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  8. ↑ Smith Amos, Denise (April 12, 1996). "River City Broadcasting Is Sold". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. 8C, 10C. Retrieved March 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Jensen, Elizabeth (April 12, 1996). "Little-known Sinclair Broadcast to buy River City, jumping into big league". The Wall Street Journal. p. B5. ProQuest 398506207.
  10. ↑ Franco, José (August 11, 1998). "Upstate radio stations have new owner". Spartanburg Herald Journal. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
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