TV Deals of 2002: From Top 25 to Bottom

Although 2002 was one of the slowest years ever for the buying and selling of TV stations, the year was not without deals that reshaped the Top 25 and other, smaller station groups. Here's a look at some of those deals. The names in parentheses after the companies are those of the chief executive or owner. The dates referred to when the deals appeared in BROADCASTING & CABLE 's Changing Hands section, which is prepared by the BIA Financial Network.

KCAL(TV) Los Angeles— Purchased by Viacom/CBS (Mel Karmazin) from Young Broadcasting (Vincent Young) for $650 million. Feb. 25, 2002

KAKE-TV Wichita, Kan.; KAUZ-TV Wichita Falls, Texas; KDLH-TV Duluth, Minn.; KGWC-TV Casper, Wyo.; KGWN-TV Cheyenne, Wyo.; KHQA-TV Hannibal, Mo.; KKTV-TV Colorado Springs, Colo.; KMIZ-TV Columbia, Mo.; WBKO-TV Bowling Green, Ky.; WHOI-TV Peoria, Ill.; WHSV-TV Harrisonburg, Va.;, WIBW-TV Topeka, Kan.; WIFR-TV Freeport, Ill.; WILX-TV Onondaga, Mich.; WMTV-TV Madison, Wis.; WOWT-TV Omaha, Neb.; WSAW-TV Wausau, Wis.; WTAP-TV Parkersburg, W.Va.; WTOK-TV Meridian, Miss.; WTVY-TV Dothan, Ala.; and WYTV-TV Youngstown, Ohio— Purchased by Gray Communications (J. Mack Robinson) from Benedek Broadcasting Corp. (Richard Benedek) for $500 million. April 8, 2002

WPWR-TV Gary, Ind.— Purchased by Fox Television (Mitch Stern) from NewsWeb (Fred Eychaner) for $425 million. July 15, 2002

WTTK-TV Kokomo and WTTV-TV Bloomington, both Ind.— Purchased by Tribune Broadcasting Co. from Sinclair Broadcast Group for $125 million. April 29, 2002

KOLO-TV Reno— Purchased by Gray Television (Mack Robinson) from Smith Broadcasting Corp. (Robert N. Smith) for $41.5 million. Sept. 23, 2002

WOWK-TV Huntington, W.Va.— Purchased by Cary Communications (Albert Cary) from SJL Communications (George Lilly) for $40.5 million. March 4, 2002

WOGX-TV Ocala and WOFL-TV Orlando, both Fla.— Acquired by Fox Television in exchange for KPTV-TV Portland, Ore., from Meredith Corp. (Kevin O'Brien). April 1, 2002

KPTV-TV Portland, Ore.— Acquired by Meredith Corp. (Kevin O'Brien) in exchange for WOGX-TV Ocala and WOFL-TV Orlando, both Fla., from Fox Television (Mitch Stern). April 1, 2002

KSBY-TV San Luis Obispo, Calif.— Purchased by New Vision Group (Jason Elkin) from SJL Communications (George Lilly) for $39.5 million. June 24, 2002

KPXF-TV Porterville, Calif.— Purchased by Univision (Jerrold Perenchio) from Paxson Communications (Lloyd Paxson) from $35 million. Aug. 5, 2002

KNSO-TV Merced, Calif.— Purchased by NBC (Jay Ireland) from Sainte Partners for $33 million. Oct. 14, 2002

WPXB-TV Merrimack, N.H.— Purchased by NBC (Jay Ireland) from Paxson Communications (Lloyd Paxson) for $26 million. Sept. 23, 2002

KHRR-TV Tucson, Ariz.— Bought by NBC (Jay Ireland) from Apogee Companies (James Johnson) for $20 million. Oct. 14, 2002

WKJG-TV Fort Wayne, Ind.— Purchased by New Vision Group (Jason Elkin) from Cloutier Trust (Joseph Cloutier) for $20 million. Dec. 2, 2002

WTRF-TV Wheeling, W.Va.— Purchased by Cary Communications (Albert Cary) from Benedek for $18.5 million. Jan. 28, 2002

KVII-TV Amarillo, Texas, and KVIH-TV Clovis, N.M.— Purchased by New Vision Group (Jason Elkin) from Marsh Media Corp. for $16.85 million. Aug. 26, 2002

WRGT-TV Dayton, Ohio— Bought by Sinclair Broadcast Group (David Smith) from Cunningham Broadcasting (Eddy Edwards) for $14.6 million. July 29, 2002

KSIX(AM) and KZTV-TV Corpus Christi and KVTV-TV Laredo, all Texas— Purchased by Eagle Creek Broadcasting (Brian Brady) from Corpus Christi Broadcasting (Kathleen Kennedy) for $11.5 million. Feb. 4, 2002

WMPX-TV Waterville, Maine, and WPXO-TV Christiansted, V.I.— Purchased by Corporate Media Consultants from Paxson Communications (Lloyd Paxson) for $10 million. Dec. 2, 2002

WSEE-TV Erie, Pa.— Purchased by Initial Broadcasting of Pennsylvania (Kevin Lilly) from WSEE Television (William Mustard) from $10 million. June 24, 2002

WVAH-TV Charleston, W.Va.— Purchased by Sinclair Broadcast Group (David Smith) from Cunningham Broadcasting Corp. (Robert L. Simmons) for $8.476 million. Aug. 12, 2002

KPHZ-TV Holbrook (Phoenix), Ariz.— Purchased by NBC (Jay Ireland) from Venture Technologies Group (Lawrence Rogow) from $7.5 million. May 13, 2002

WTAT-TV Charleston, S.C.— Purchased by Sinclair Broadcast Corp. from Cunningham Broadcasting Corp. (Robert L. Simmons) for $7.3 million. Aug. 26, 2002

WHPN(TV) Janesville, Wis.— Purchased by Acme Television (Jamie Kellner) from Harish Puri for $5.6 million. April 15, 2002

WNUV-TV Baltimore— Purchased by Sinclair Broadcast Group (David Smith) from Cunningham Broadcasting Corp. (Robert L. Simmons) for $4.5 million. Aug. 12, 2002

KOCM-TV Norman, Okla.— Purchased by Daystar Television Network (Marcus Lamb) from Norman TV (Cyril Miller) for $3.6 million. July 29, 2002

WTTE-TV Columbus, Ohio— Purchased by Sinclair Broadcast Group (David Smith) from Cunningham Broadcasting Corp. (Robert L. Simmons) for $3.3 million. Aug. 12, 2002