Two of the largest television stations in Arkansas will soon be owned by the same company pending regulatory approval. Tribune Media, which owns KFSM along with 41 other stations across the country, was sold Monday to Sinclair Broadcast Group, the nation’s largest television broadcaster.
This means that the CBS affiliate in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas River Valley could soon be a “sister station” to KATV, the longtime ABC affiliate serving Central Arkansas, and a perennial television powerhouse in the Little Rock market. For decades, KATV was the official television station of the Arkansas Razorbacks, employing personalities like Paul Eells, who served as Voice of the Razorbacks on radio from 1978 until his death in a 2006 car crash near Russellville.
Nothing is final in the transaction, which will have to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission. Sinclair noted in it’s announcement of the sale that the company may be forced to sell some of it’s broadcast properties to comply with federal regulations governing ownership of multiple stations.
KFSM has a rich history in the Fort Smith market, having signed on the air under the ownership of newspaper magnate Donald W. Reynolds in July 1953. For many years, the television station was operated in the same building as both KFSA 950 AM and the Southwest Times Record at 920 Rogers Avenue. Reynolds sold KFSM in 1973 after rules were put in place by the Federal Communications Commission barring common ownership between television stations and daily newspapers in the same market. KFSA Radio was sold to the family of local radio broadcaster Fred Baker in 1979, who continues to operate the station and it’s FM repeater as “Hog Country 93.1”.
Other owners of KFSM through the years have included Buford Television, the New York Times Company, and Local TV LLC.
The station has been a ratings juggernaut during it’s time, with it’s consistent news programs and evening features such as Wheel of Fortune that have been in homes for decades. The station currently operates from the stately headquarters on North 13th Street, amid rumors that like it’s competitors, many of it’s operations may soon be shifted to Northwest Arkansas.
The deal for all 42 stations in the Tribune Media broadcast group is valued at $3.9 Billion.
