Dow Jones & Co. and ITT Corp. have agreed to sell their
jointly-owned New York TV station WBIS+ for $257.5M to
Paxson Communications Corp., according to Knecht & Pope of
the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Once the purchase of WBIS+ is
complete, the station will become Paxson's 50th, and its
flagship station. Dow Jones said "a large majority" of the
station's 265 full-time workers will be laid off, but it
emphasized that "it continues to develop its television
operations." WBIS+ programming will end on June 29, and
Paxson expects to take over the station's operations the
following day on a lease basis, pending FCC approval. The
station will be renamed WPXN, after Paxson's stock symbol on
the American Stock Exchange (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/13).
CNN's Allan Dodds reported the Dow Jones-ITT Corp "marriage
was doomed once ITT went into a prevent defense to fight off
Hilton's take over bid" ("Moneyline," 5/12). In N.Y.,
Geraldine Fabrikant notes the sale "represents a defeat for
Dow Jones's efforts to expand its United States television
operations" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/13).
OH YEAH, SPORTS: Paxson will keep 21 hours of sports
programming from Liberty/Fox Sports, "which is expected to
include" Fox Sports News, baseball one night a week, and one
hour daily of The Golf Channel. A Fox Sports spokesperson
said Fox plans to talk with Paxson about including other
sports programs (Jon Elsen, N.Y. POST, 5/13).
