Backstory
Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/11/2000
With news of NBC's syndication partnership with Hearst-Argyle and Gannett and the tough times for syndicators generally, let's not forget that, about this time in 1986, Milt Grant was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for three of his stations: Miami's WBFS-TV , Chicago's WGBO-TV and Philadelphia's WGBS-TV .
Grant had been trying to renegotiate deals with syndicators, but, by the second week in December, representatives from 15 to 20 syndication companies met at Paramount in Los Angeles to prepare their own solutions.
Grant Broadcasting System had anticipated 1986 revenue of $56 million, of which $40 million was to go to program suppliers, BROADCASTING reported. When revenue fell below that, the stations were in trouble, and so were syndicators. They were in and out of bankruptcy court with various remedies for most of the next year.
