Pappas Telecasting will put 10 stations on the bankruptcy auction block Dec. 11, reports the Wall Street Journal. Thirteen of Pappas’ stations have been operating under Chapter 11 protection since May. Just after those stations moved into Chapter 11, three of Pappas’ lenders pushed for involuntary Chapter 7 petitions for Pappas Telecasting chairman Harry Pappas and his wife.
In August, Pappas and its lenders agreed to the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee to oversee the debtors’ operations, financial affairs and sale process. This happened after negotiations broke down between Pappas and its lenders.
The stations to go on the block include outlets in El Paso, Omaha and Sioux City, as Pappas continues to pay down a heavy debt load.
Pappas owns 27 stations and calls itself “the largest privately-held, commercial television broadcast group in the United States in terms of U.S. household coverage.” A few months ago, it sold six stations, mostly low power ones, in Nevada and California to Entravision for $4 million.
