Heritage Media
Heritage Media Corporation was a media company which owned television and radio stations across the United States, as well as in-store and direct marketing companies. It was based in Dallas, Texas from 1987 to 1997.
History
Heritage Media was founded in August 1987 by a group of Heritage Communications executives to acquire the company's television and radio stations. The sale coincided with Heritage Communications' merger with Tele-Communications Inc.; at the time, Federal Communications Commission regulations did not allow a company to own both a television station and a cable system in a market. Heritage Communications had acquired the stations through the 1985 purchase of Dakota Broadcasting and the 1986 acquisitions of Rollins Communications and six LIN Broadcasting radio stations. Heritage Media's president and chief executive officer, James M. Hoak, Jr., held the same positions with Heritage Communications; the company's headquarters were located in Des Moines, Iowa until later in 1987, when it relocated to Dallas, Texas.Heritage Media managed its television stations with more of an emphasis on cash flow than ratings, and focused its radio group on stations that it felt needed a turnaround. To implement this strategy, the company's stations operated with large sales staffs but were otherwise staffed sparingly. Heritage Media went public in September 1988, trading on the American Stock Exchange. By then, it had invested in POP Radio, an in-store radio company, and Du-Kross Media, which sold advertisements on shopping carts. In 1989, Heritage Media purchased Actmedia, a in-store marketing company. In 1996, the company merged with DIMAC Corporation, a direct marketing services company. On July 15, 1996, Heritage Media moved its stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange.
News Corporation announced on March 17, 1997 that it would acquire Heritage Media for $754 million. The purchase was mainly for the Actmedia and DIMAC subsidiaries, and News Corporation immediately announced its intention to sell Heritage Media's broadcast properties; News Corporation's Fox Television Stations subsidiary was already at Federal Communications Commission ownership limits, and the company had no interest in operating radio stations. On July 16, 1997, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that it would acquire the Heritage Media stations for $630 million. The sale to News Corporation was completed on August 20, 1997; Heritage Media's stations were then transferred to a trustee, with Sinclair assuming control of the stations in stages from January 29, 1998 to July 1998. Actmedia was folded into News Corporation's News America Marketing subsidiary.
Stations formerly owned by Heritage Media
Stations are arranged alphabetically by state and by city of license.Television stations
Notes:- 1 WFGX and WFFF-TV were operated by Heritage Media under local marketing agreements.
- 2 The KEVN intellectual unit, including its use of virtual channel 7 and its Fox affiliation, was transferred by Gray Television to a low-power license, KEVN-LD, in 2016.
- 3 KDLT operated on channel 5 in Mitchell, South Dakota while under Heritage Media ownership. In 1998, Red River Broadcasting moved KDLT-TV to channel 46 in Sioux Falls, with the channel 5 license in Mitchell repurposed as satellite station KDLV-TV.
Radio stations
| Market | Station | Years owned | Current ownership |
| Santa Monica – Los Angeles | KDAY-1580 | 1987–1991 | KBLA, owned by Multicultural Broadcasting |
| New Orleans | WBYU-1450 | 1997 | defunct, went silent in 2011 |
| New Orleans | WEZB-97.1 | 1997 | owned by Entercom |
| New Orleans | WRNO-FM-99.5 | 1997 | owned by iHeartMedia |
| Kansas City, Missouri | KCAZ-1480 | 1997 | KCZZ, owned by TBLC Holdings |
| Kansas City, Missouri | KXTR-96.5 | 1997 | KRBZ, owned by Entercom |
| Kansas City, Missouri | KQRC-FM-98.9 | 1997 | owned by Entercom |
| Kansas City, Missouri | KCFX-101.1 | 1992–1997 | owned by Cumulus Media |
| Kansas City, Missouri | KCIY-106.5 | 1995–1997 | WDAF-FM, owned by Entercom |
| St. Louis | WIL/WRTH-1430 | 1987–1997 | defunct, went silent in 2020 was KZQZ at time of license cancellation |
| St. Louis | WIL-FM-92.3 | 1987–1997 | owned by Hubbard Broadcasting |
| St. Louis | KRJY/KIHT-96.3 | 1994–1997 | KNOU, owned by Entercom |
| Rochester, New York | WBBF-950 | 1987–1997 | WROC, owned by Entercom |
| Rochester, New York | WBEE-FM-92.5 | 1987–1997 | owned by Entercom |
| Rochester, New York | WQRV-93.3 | 1997 | WFKL, owned by Stephens Media Group |
| Rochester, New York | WKLX-98.9 | 1993–1997 | WBZA, owned by Entercom |
| Fairfield, Ohio — Cincinnati | WOFX/WVAE-94.9 | 1992–1997 | WREW, owned by Hubbard Broadcasting |
| Portland, Oregon | KKSN-910 | 1988–1997 | KMTT, owned by Entercom |
| Portland, Oregon | KKSN-FM-97.1 | 1988–1997 | KYCH-FM, owned by Entercom |
| Portland, Oregon | KXYQ-FM/KKRH-105.1 | 1995–1997 | KRSK, owned by Entercom |
| Knoxville, Tennessee | WWST-93.1 | 1996–1997 | WNOX, owned by SummitMedia |
| Knoxville, Tennessee | WMYU-102.1 | 1996–1997 | WWST, owned by SummitMedia |
| Norfolk - Virginia Beach - Newport News | WGH-1310 | 1997 | owned by Max Media |
| Norfolk - Virginia Beach - Newport News | WGH-FM-97.3 | 1997 | owned by Max Media |
| Norfolk - Virginia Beach - Newport News | WVCL-95.7 | 1997 | WVKL, owned by Entercom |
| Seattle | KRPM/KULL-770 | 1988–1995 | KTTH, owned by Bonneville International |
| Seattle | KRPM-1090 | 1995–1997 | KFNQ, owned by iHeartMedia |
| Seattle | KRPM-FM/KCIN-FM/KBKS-106.1 | 1988–1997 | owned by iHeartMedia |
| Milwaukee | WEMP-1250 | 1988–1997 | WSSP, owned by Entercom |
| Milwaukee | WMYX-FM-99.1 | 1988–1997 | owned by Entercom |
| Milwaukee | WEZW/WAMG-103.7 | 1994–1997 | WXSS, owned by Entercom |