Affiliation agreement and merger with Fox New World Pictures

the biggest deal involving new world communications aid in changing face of american broadcasting. in wake of fox s landmark $1.58-billion deal national football league (nfl) on december 17, 1993, awarded television rights national football conference (nfc) beginning league s 1994 season, network began seeking agreements various station groups affiliate vhf stations had established histories affiliates of big 3 broadcast television networks (abc, cbs , nbc) , therefore had higher value advertisers (compared predominately uhf affiliate body, vast majority of independent stations before joining network), in effort bolster network s newly acquired package of nfl game telecasts.

shortly after citicasters acquisition announcement, on may 23, 1994, new world communications , fox reached multi-year affiliation agreement in new world switch of television stations network beginning fall. deal include of stations new world in midst of acquiring argyle , citicasters, of affected stations joining fox after existing affiliation contracts then-current network partners concluded (wdaf-tv , ksaz-tv first switch on september 12, 1994, when fox televised inaugural regular-season nfl games; kdfw, ktbc , ktvi switched on july 1, 1995, while 3 of other stations remained under new world ownership switched on either december 11 or 12, 1994). in exchange, fox parent news corporation agreed purchase 20% interest in new world $500 million. new world approached fox in part due group s expanding presence in several primary , secondary markets of nfc teams (including of dallas cowboys, tampa bay buccaneers, green bay packers, detroit lions, atlanta falcons , arizona cardinals; st. louis , greensboro-winston-salem-high point respectively become nfl markets in 1995 relocation of rams los angeles , foundation of charlotte-based carolina panthers). new world, meanwhile, concerned effect network s loss of nfc rights fox have on both cbs, near bottom of network ratings @ time, , on group s cbs-affiliated stations.

the stations became fox affiliates had acquire or produce additional programming fill broadcast days, fox programmed fewer hours of network content (prime time programming 2 hours on monday through saturdays , 3 hours on sundays, monday through saturday children s block fox kids, , hour of late night programming on saturdays) 3 established major network competitors; on top of that, of new world stations (with ktvi later becoming lone exception) declined carry fox kids block, peculiarity @ time when abc, nbc , cbs affiliates still pre-empting portions of network s children s program lineups. time vacated news programs, daytime shows , children s programs each station s former network filled additional syndicated programming and, in particular, local newscasts (with morning newscasts expanding 1 2 hours , early-evening newscasts half-hour; majority of stations--except ktbc, initially, until launched hour-long 9:00 p.m. newscast in august 2000--also carried newscast in final hour of prime time). deal whole (as second affiliation agreement struck 1 month after new world deal through purchase of 4 burnham broadcasting stations sf broadcasting, joint venture savoy pictures) caused domino effect resulted in various individual , group affiliation deals involving 4 networks (primarily, cbs , abc) affecting television stations in 30 media markets, including several new world did not own station.

three new world stations excluded fox affiliation deal. in boston, new world owned wsbk-tv, fox affiliated wfxt (channel 25), network later re-acquire boston celtics in july 1995 (besides that, wsbk--like wfxt--was uhf station no prior history major network station , no existing news department, unlike vast majority of sister stations). wvtm exempted in birmingham, as, in summer of 1995, new world sold wbrc wghp fox television stations, wbrc switching fox after affiliation contract abc expired on august 31, 1996 (fox s purchases of wbrc , wghp--the latter of switched network when contract abc expired on september 1, 1995--were finalized on january 17, 1996). knsd (also uhf station) did not switch fox affiliated vhf station in san diego market, tijuana, mexico-based xetv-tv (channel 6, later cw affiliate , canal 5 station targeting tijuana). both knsd , wvtm retained nbc affiliations. new world planned sell 3 stations well, in order comply fcc s twelve-station ownership limit. in november 1994, new world sold wsbk-tv paramount stations group subsidiary of viacom (which turned charter affiliate of united paramount network (upn), new network launched on january 16, 1995, in partnership viacom subsidiary paramount television).

meanwhile, transfer/assignment applications of argyle stations not filed fcc until time after new world had completed purchases of 4 citicasters stations on september 9 , october 12, 1994 (the former being consummation date wdaf , ksaz purchases, , latter wghp , wbrc purchases). new world began operating argyle stations through time brokerage agreements on january 19, 1995; acquisition of argyle stations completed on april 14, following trust transfers of wbrc , wghp.

later year brandon tartikoff, helped nbc out of ratings doldrums in 1980s in former role president of entertainment @ nbc, joined new world communications in executive position; concurrently, new world acquired tartikoff s production company moving target productions. new world acquired remaining interest in genesis entertainment, expanded upon new world s production assets television distribution (genesis subsequently renamed new world-genesis distribution following closure of purchase).

later in 1995, company signed distribution deal nbc (access hollywood, distributed nbcuniversal television distribution, program came out of agreement) in exchange renewing nbc affiliations wvtm , knsd in ten-year deals. year saw acquisitions of cannell entertainment , entertainment magazine premiere (the latter of purchased in joint venture between new world , hachette filipacchi media u.s., assumed new world s interest following merger news corporation). in may 1996, new world sold wvtm , knsd nbc television stations $425 million; 2 stations became owned-and-operated stations of nbc when deal became final on august 14.

on july 17, 1996, fox parent news corporation announced acquire remainder of new world communications $2.48 billion in stock. when merger news corporation finalized on january 22, 1997, former new world television stations transferred fox television stations subsidiary, turning former group s twelve fox affiliates owned-and-operated stations of network, joining wghp , wbrc. new world communications name has lived on since stations involved in purchase remain under fox television stations ownership, under names new world communications of (city or state) or nw communications of (city or state) , used solely in copyright tags seen during closing of each station s newscasts (except 2007 june 2009 result of fox s december 2007 sale of 8 owned-and-operated stations--including former new world stations wjw, ktvi, wdaf-tv, witi-tv, wbrc , wghp--to local tv, merge tribune broadcasting in december 2013) , since late june 2009, in fcc license filings legal licensee names these stations.