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
