Granite Broadcasting Corporation

Granite Broadcasting Corporation, founded by W. Don Cornwell and Stuart Beck (attorney) in 1988 [2], is a broadcasting holding company which owns or operates (via local marketing agreements) 14 television stations in the United States, largely centered in the midwest with a cluster in New York state. The company was the first African American-owned chain to be considered a "major" group to exist in the United States (though not the first minority-owned chain, a distinction held by the Aleut-owned Cook Inlet Broadcasting).

The company is based in New York City. The current Chairman of the board and CEO is Peter Markham.[1][2] Current COO is Duane Lammers, a consultant to the company since mid 2008 and former COO of Nexstar Broadcasting Group[3].

Granite declared Chapter 11 (reorganization) bankruptcy on December 11, 2006.[3] It emerged from bankruptcy in June 2007 under the control of private equity firm Silver Point Capital (which also took over ComCorp later that year).

Contents

Coverage

In December 2008, Granite expanded the delivery of their programming over cable in their regional market areas.[4][5]

Stations Owned by Granite Broadcasting

DMA# Market Station RF
Channel		 Display
Channel		 Current Affiliation Acquired Notes
6 San Francisco, CA KOFY-TV 19 20 Ind. 1998 [1]
11 Detroit, MI WMYD 21 20 MyNetworkTV 1997 [1]
52 Buffalo, NY WKBW-TV 38 7 ABC 1995
55 Fresno, CA KSEE 38 24 NBC 1993
83 Syracuse, NY WTVH 47 5 CBS 1993 Operated by Barrington Broadcasting-owned WSTM through a JSA and SSA
107 Fort Wayne, IN WISE 18 33 NBC 2004 Combined operations with WPTA
MY FOX FORT WAYNE on 33.2
WPTA 24 21 ABC N/A owned by Malara Broadcasting
The CW on 21.2
The VIPIR Channel (Weather) on 21.3
116 Peoria, IL WEEK-TV 25 25 NBC 1989 Controls WAOE and WHOI
WHOI 19 19 ABC N/A Owned by Barrington Broadcasting
The CW on 19.2
WAOE 39 59 MyNetworkTV N/A Owned by Four Seasons Broadcasting
139 Superior, WI
Duluth, MN		 KBJR-TV 19 6 NBC 1989 Combined operations with KDLH

My 9 (MyNetworkTV) on 6.2
Duluth, MN KDLH 33 3 CBS N/A owned by Malara Broadcasting
Northland's CW (The CW) on 3.2
Chisholm, MN KRII 11 11 NBC 2000 Satellite station of KBJR
157 Binghamton, NY WBNG 7 12 CBS 2006 The CW on 12.2 (WBNG-DT2)
  1. a A proposed 2006 sale of KBWB and WMYD to DS Audible, LLC was cancelled after DS Audible failed to close the sale.[6]

Former Stations

Market Station RF
Channel		 Display
Channel		 Affiliation(s) Owned by Granite Current Owner Notes
San Jose, CA KNTV 12 11 ABC; WB; NBC 1989–2002 NBC O&O Was ABC for Silicon Valley and the Monterey-Salinas area until 2000, WB until end of 2001, now is NBC for the San Francisco Bay Area
Fort Wayne, IN WPTA 24 21 ABC 1989–2004 Malara Broadcasting Transferred to Malara upon Granite's purchase of WISE
Kalamazoo, MI WWMT 8 3 CBS 1995-98 Freedom Communications
Lansing, MI WLAJ 51 53 ABC 1996-98 Freedom Communications
Austin, TX KEYE-TV 43 42 Fox; CBS 1992-99 Four Points Media Group
(managed by Nexstar Broadcasting Group)		 Was KBVO and Fox until 1995

References

  1. ^ http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/327214-Cornwell_And_Deushane_Stepping_Down_At_Granite_Broadcasting.php
  2. ^ http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/local-broadcast/e3i224997d33ab2d014d3d211f170804acb
  3. ^ "Granite Broadcasting Voluntarily Files Petition for Reorganization" (Press release). Granite Broadcasting Corporation. 2006-12-11. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/12-11-2006/0004489358. Retrieved 2006-12-12. 
  4. ^ Time Warner Cable Inc. and Granite Broadcasting Corporation to Provide Broadcast Television Programming in Several New York Markets [1]
  5. ^ Time Warner Closes Retrans Deals With Granite, ComCorp
  6. ^ "Granite Broadcasting Corporation Announces Termination of Sale Agreements for Detroit and San Francisco Television Stations" (Press release). Granite Broadcasting Corporation. 2006-07-18. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-18-2006/0004398783. Retrieved 2006-12-12. 

External links