Young Broadcasting, which paid a record $823 million for KRON only to see the station’s value drop like a rock after it lost its NBC affiliation, announced Friday that it has wiped $800 million in debt off its books in bankruptcy proceedings.
“Having shed nearly $800 million in debt and millions of dollars of burdensome contracts through the bankruptcy process, New Young Broadcasting is emerging from bankruptcy as the most financially sound company in television broadcasting,” Young said in a statement.
Young Broadcasting owns KRON and nine stations in the Midwest. Young previously announced that seven of the Midwest stations will be operated by Grey Television for a fee of $2.2 million annually. KRON and two other stations will be run by a new company with a board of directors that includes Vince Young but also more representatives of the creditors.
NBC may still take over KRON. They could either sell off KSTS or KNTV and merge operations at their North First Street location in San Jose.
This paves the way for Young to sell off KRON at a lower price than before. Look for KRON to become part of a duopoly with ABC7 or KOFY20.
"…the most financially sound company in television broadcasting"? Is that a joke?