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Standard General is the second largest TV station group in the United States — or will be if the FCC approves its takeover of publicly traded Tegna, last year’s third largest group.
The big M&A news of the past year was Standard General’s agreement to take Tegna private in a $5.4 billion buyout of shareholders.
That approval is not guaranteed, but in keeping with BIA Advisory Service’s long-held practice, TVNewsCheck’s Top 30 annual ranking of station groups revenue assumes that all pending mergers and acquisition will get the FCC’s blessing and close. Most deals do.
Nexstar, with nearly $4 billion in total revenue, remains the undisputed leader of the pack. Rounding out the top 10 are Sinclair, Fox, CBS, Comcast/NBC, ABC, Scripps and Hearst.
The ranking is based on 2021 data from BIA Advisory Services, a Chantilly, Va.-based research and investment firm. It provides the coverage percentage (of total TV homes) as well the revenue estimates upon which the ranking is based.
Standard General is controlled by investor Soo Kim and managed by TV broadcasting veteran Deborah McDermott. They had teamed up earlier in rolling up Young, LIN and Media General groups before selling out to Nexstar.
Standard General usurpation of Tegna and the subsequent slipping by Gray Television into the No. 3 spot are the only significant changes on this year’s ranking.
BIA maintains Cunningham Broadcasting and stations owned by Stephen Mumblow as distinct groups. But because they function essentially as subsidiaries — duopoly partners — of Sinclair, TVNewsCheck lumps their