Bonten Media Group

Bonten Media Group was a New York City-based owner of television broadcast stations in the United States. It was formed by Randall D. Bongarten and Diamond Castle Holdings in November 2006. Its first acquisition was 14 stations from Bluestone Television, founded by Sandy DiPasquale and Providence Equity Partners (who would later form Newport Television) on May 31, 2007.[1][2] Bluestone had acquired the same stations from Lamco Communications in 2004.[3] On January 1, 2008, Bonten entered into an agreement with Esteem Broadcasting to provide services to the Fox affiliates (WFXI/WYDO) in the Greenville-New Bern market, in addition to WEMT in the Tri-Cities area of Northeastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia, bringing the number of stations which Bonten Media Group owns or provides services up to 16 from 13.

Bonten Media Group, LLC
TypePrivate
Limited liability company
IndustryBroadcast Television
Predecessor14 stations from Bluestone Television
FoundedNovember 2006 (2006-11)
FoundersRandall D. Bongarten
Diamond Castle Holdings
DefunctSeptember 1, 2017 (2017-09-01)
FateAcquired by Sinclair
SuccessorSinclair Broadcast Group
HeadquartersEmpire State Building,
New York, New York
,
USA
ParentDiamond Castle Holdings

On April 21, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced its intent to purchase the Bonten stations for $240 million. The deal came immediately following the re-instatement of the "UHF discount", which reduces the calculated "reach" of a station for the purposes of national ownership limits if it broadcasts on a UHF channel.[4] The sale was approved on June 30,[5] and the sale was completed on September 1.[6][7][8][9]

Former stations

Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license.

City of license / Market Station Channel Years owned Current status
Redding–Chico–Paradise, CA KRCR-TV 72007–2017ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
KXVU-LP 172012–2017Antenna TV affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
KCVU 202012–2017[lower-alpha 1]Fox affiliate owned by Cunningham Broadcasting[lower-alpha 2]
KRVU-LD 212012–2017MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
KZVU-LD[upper-alpha 1] 222012–2017MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
KUCO-LP 272012–2017Univision affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
KKTF-LD 302012–2017UniMás affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Arcata–Eureka, CA KAEF-TV[upper-alpha 2] 232007–2017ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
KBVU[upper-alpha 3] 282012–2017[lower-alpha 1]Fox affiliate owned by Cunningham Broadcasting[lower-alpha 2]
KECA-LD 292012–2017The CW affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
KEUV-LP 312012–2017Univision affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Missoula, MT KECI-TV 132007–2017NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Kalispell, MT KCFW-TV[upper-alpha 4] 92007–2017NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Butte, MT KTVM-TV[upper-alpha 4] 62007–2017NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Bozeman, MT KDBZ-CD[upper-alpha 5] 422007–2017NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Greenville–New Bern–Morehead City, NC WFXI 82007–2017[lower-alpha 1]Defunct, ceased operations in 2017
WYDO[upper-alpha 6] 142007–2017[lower-alpha 1]Fox affiliate owned by Cunningham Broadcasting[lower-alpha 2]
WCTI-TV 122007–2017ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Abilene, TX KTXS-TV 122007–2017ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
KTES-LD 402007–2017TBD affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
San Angelo, TX KTXE-LD[upper-alpha 7] 382007–2017ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Bristol, VA–Johnson City–Kingsport, TN WCYB-TV 52007–2017NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
WEMT 392007–2017[lower-alpha 1]Fox affiliate owned by Cunningham Broadcasting[lower-alpha 2]
  1. Satellite of KRVU-LD.
  2. Semi-satellite of KRCR.
  3. Semi-satellite of KCVU.
  4. Semi-satellite of KECI.
  5. Satellite of KTVM.
  6. Satellite of WFXI.
  7. Satellite of KTXS.
  1. Owned by Esteem Broadcasting, LLC, and operated by Bonten through an SSA.
  2. Operated through an SSA by Sinclair Broadcast Group.

See also

References
  1. DiPasquale moving Wichita business to Kansas City, Wichita Business Journal, August 3, 2007, Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  2. BlueStone Television to Acquire Lamco Communications, BusinessWire.com, January 14, 2014, Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  3. Former KWCH owner buys 12 stations, makes Wichita base, Wichita Business Journal, January 25, 2004, Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  4. "Sinclair Buying Bonten Stations For $240M". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  5. FCC Approves Sinclair-Bonten Deal, Broadcasting & Cable, June 30, 2017, Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  6. Sinclair Closes On Acquisition Of Bonten Media Group Holdings, Inc., Sinclair Broadcast Group, September 5, 2017, Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  7. Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  8. Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  9. Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved September 6, 2017.
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