One family could soon own all four network TV affiliates in the Greenwood and Greenville market.
WXVT-Channel 15, a CBS affiliate, is in the process of being sold for $2.65 million by Saga Broadcasting to a company controlled by Charles Harker’s three children.
The Californian already owns the ABC, NBC and Fox stations — WABG, WNBD and Delta Fox, respectively — in the area through the Commonwealth Broadcasting Group, which is not affiliated with the Greenwood Commonwealth.
The deal requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission. A decision is expected by September.
According to documents on file with the Federal Communications Commission, the sale works this way:
Harker, the sole stockholder of Commonwealth Broadcasting, has agreed to personally guarantee a $2.65 million loan to H3 Communications LLC of Century City, Calif.
The officers of H3 Communications are Harker’s three children, who are in their 20s and have not previously been involved in broadcast ownership.
After the sale, H3 Communications will enter into an agreement with Commonwealth Broadcasting to “sell advertising on WXVT and provide traffic, billing, marketing and related services to WXVT.”
There’s a huge bureaucracy of federal regulations surrounding the sale. A 53-page asset purchase agreement dated April 3 spells out what each side must do.
It says, in part, that the new owners are under no obligation to hire WXVT’s employees but can do so. The new owners must give a list of the employees they plan to keep to the current owners by June 1.
Harker bought WABG in 2007.
His company launched an NBC station in late 2010. This caused some backlash in Greenwood because its arrival meant cable viewers could no longer get the more-established WTVA of Tupelo.
