New York Times Company Offloads TV Stations

NEW YORK, January 5: The New York Times Company has entered
into an agreement to sell its nine network-affiliated television stations to
the private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners.

The sale of the company’s Broadcast Media Group includes the
networks’ websites and the Digital Operating Center. The deal, valued at $575
million, is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the
first half of this year. The stations are WHO-TV in Des Moines, Iowa (NBC);
KFSM-TV in Ft. Smith, Arkansas (CBS); WHNT-TV in Huntsville, Alabama (CBS);
WREG-TV in Memphis, Tennessee (CBS); WQAD-TV in Moline, Illinois (ABC); WTKR-TV
in Norfolk, Virginia (CBS); KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (NBC); KAUT-TV
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (MyNetworkTV); and WNEP-TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania
(ABC).

Janet L. Robinson, the president and CEO of The New York
Times Company, said of the station group: “Over the years they have provided
their communities with high-quality programming and have contributed
significantly to our financial performance. We believe, however, that our focus
now should be on the development of our newspapers and our rapidly growing
digital businesses and the increasing synergies between them.”

In April of last year, the New York Times sold its 50
percent interest in the Discovery Times cable network to its joint venture
partner Discovery Communications.