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RSSGazette, The; Colorado Springs, Colo.
By ANDREW WINEKE THE GAZETTE
Raycom Media agreed Monday to sell local Fox affiliate KXRM/ Channel 21 and UPN affiliate KXTU/Channel 57 to the Barrington Broadcasting Corp. on Monday as part of a deal worth $262 million.
Raycom put its stations in 12 cities, including the two Colorado Springs stations, on the market back in November in a corporate restructuring. Barrington is buying Raycom's stations in nine cities.
Steve Dant, general manager of KXRM and KXTU, said he thinks the stations will be a good fit with Barrington.
"I think this is a good move," Dant said. "A sale always makes everybody nervous, but I'm pretty happy with who they've sold the television stations to. I think it'll be a good partnership."
Jim Yager, president of Barrington, already knows the local turf. He was president of Benedek Broadcasting, which owned KKTV/Channel 11 before merging with current owner Gray Communications.
"We love the market, we love the area and we're delighted to be back in the market," Yager said. "In those sized markets, local television stations are still relevant in local news and in community service."
Paul McTear, president and chief executive officer for Raycom, said the sale probably wouldn't affect viewers in Colorado Springs.
"Jim Yager and his company know Colorado Springs very, very well and are very, very excited about it," he said.
The new owners will have to deal with a couple of issues in Colorado Springs. KXRM's 9 p.m. newscast is produced by KKTV under an agreement that ends in late summer.
"In terms of the news operation, we've thought a lot about it, but we haven't reached any definitive agreements at this point," Yager said.
Also, KXTU's UPN affiliation will go away this fall when UPN and the WB network combine to form the CW network. Dant said the station is in negotiations with both the CW and Fox's new My Television Network.
Raycom bought KXRM and KXTU in 2000 from a group headed by Larry Douglas, who started KXRM as an independent station in 1985 and signed on as a Fox affiliate two years later. KXTU started in 1999. Barrington Broadcasting is the television arm of the private equity firm the Pilot Group. It currently owns TV stations in six cities. Yager said he expects the sale to be completed by July.
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0275 or awineke@gazette.com
