Freedom Shopping Stations
Freedom Communications is shopping its eight TV stations, as a prospectus book lauding the merits of the likes of WPEC West Palm Beach, WWMT Grand Rapids and WRGB Albany is making the rounds among potential buyers.
News of the Freedom stations being on the block previously appeared on TVNewsCheck.com, which reported that Freedom is seeking $400 million to $500 million for the group. A spokesperson representating Freedom called those figures speculative.
The rep, from Sitrick & Co., said considering all options was a typical course of action for a group emerging from Chapter 11, which Freedom did in April.
"The Freedom Board of Directors has hired and is working with financial experts in an effort to provide a structured approach to examining various strategic options that are presented to the company," said Freedom in a statement. "The evaluation of strategic options is a normal process for a company to undertake, especially after emerging from a major restructuring with new owners in place."
The statement said that "Freedom has been approached by a number of strategic buyers who will need to be further considered and evaluated as part of this larger process. It is the company's responsibility to take them seriously and evaluate them as they arise. There are no recommendations or conclusions at this time."
Thomas Herwitz was named president of Freedom Broadcasting last week, replacing Doreen Wade.
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Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.