Station Buy Give CBS Duopoly In NY Market

CBS Television Stations said today that it has inked a deal to acquire independent NY station WLNY-TV, giving CBS two stations in the nation’s largest media market. When the deal is approved, it will mark the 10th duopoly in 10 U.S. cities for CBS, joining Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Miami, Sacramento and Pittsburgh. The combined strengths of CBS 2 and WLNY-TV will give us a terrific platform for serving the entire NY area,” CBS TV Stations president Peter Dunn said in the release announcing the deal. “Our plans for the station include adding people and resources to fuel a significant expansion of local news programming well beyond the nightly half-hour that currently airs.” WLNY is distributed in the NY-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state area and on Long Island, where an expanded news bureau is expected. The station generated $3.8M in revenue last year, a tiny amount in the huge market, according to research firm BIA/Kelsey. But Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker calls the agreement “a smart, tuck-in acquisition that should provide some significant upside opportunities” for CBS.Duopolies typically generate more profit than stand-alone stations, she says, and WLNY has a lot of room to grow — especially if CBS makes it a player in local news.