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

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

Television

TV stations owned by River City Broadcasting
City of license / Market Station Channel Years owned Current ownership status
Sacramento–Stockton–Modesto, CA KOVR 131994–1997CBS owned-and-operated (O&O)
Bloomington–Indianapolis, IN WTTV 41991–1997CBS affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group
Kokomo, IN WTTK[lower-alpha 1] 291991–1997CBS affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group
Des Moines–Ames, IA KDSM-TV 171991–1997Fox affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
St. Louis, MO KDNL-TV 301989–1997ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Columbus, OH WSYX 61994–1997ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Asheville, NC–Greenville–Spartanburg, SC WLOS 131994–1997ABC/MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
WAXA/
WFBC-TV[lower-alpha 2]		 401994–1997Dabl affiliate WMYA-TV, owned by Cunningham Broadcasting[lower-alpha 3]
San Antonio, TX KABB 291989–1997Fox affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group

Radio

AM Station FM Station
City of license / Market Station Years owned Current ownership status
Santa Monica–Los Angeles, CA KBLA 1580 1995–1996Multicultural Broadcasting
New Orleans, LA WWL 870 1995–1996Audacy, Inc.
WSMB 1350 1995–1996WWWL; Audacy, Inc.
WLMG 101.9 1995–1996Audacy, Inc.
KMEZ 102.9 1995–1996Cumulus Media
St. Louis, MO WVRV 101.1 1990–1996WXOS; Hubbard Broadcasting
KPNT 105.7 –1996Hubbard Broadcasting
Albuquerque, NM KZSS 610 1994–1996KNML; Cumulus Media
KZRR 94.1 1994–1996iHeartMedia
KLSK 104.1 1994–1996KTEG; iHeartMedia
Buffalo, NY WBEN 930 1995–1996Audacy, Inc.
WWKB 1520 1995–1996Audacy, Inc.
WKSE 98.5 1995–1996Audacy, Inc.
WMJQ 102.5 1995–1996WBKV; Educational Media Foundation
Wilkes-Barre–Scranton, PA WGBI 910 1995–1996WAAF; Audacy, Inc.
WILK 980 1995–1996Audacy, Inc.
WKRZ 98.5 1995–1996Audacy, Inc.
WGGY 101.3 1995–1996Audacy, Inc.
Greenville–Spartanburg, SC WORD 910 1995–1998WOLI; Norsan Media LLC
WSPA 950 1995–1998WORD; Audacy, Inc.
WFBC 1330 1995–1998WYRD; Audacy, Inc.
WFBC-FM 93.7 1995–1998Audacy, Inc.
WSPA-FM 98.9 1995–1998Audacy, Inc.
Memphis, TN WJCE 680 1995–1996WMFS; Audacy, Inc.
WOGY 94.1 1995–1996WMLE; Educational Media Foundation
WRVR 104.5 1995–1996Audacy, Inc.
Nashville, TN WLAC 1510 1995–1996iHeartMedia
WJCE-FM 101.1 1995–1996WUBT; iHeartMedia
WLAC-FM 105.9 1995–1996WNRQ; iHeartMedia

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Satellite of WTTV.
  2. ↑ WAXA was a full-time satellite of WLOS for most of its ownership by River City until being spun out as independent station WFBC-TV in September 1995.
  3. ↑ Operated through a LMA by Sinclair Broadcast Group.

References

  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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