River City Broadcasting L.P. was a major television and radio station operator in mid-sized markets in the United States, based in St. Louis, Missouri.
The firm was formed in 1989 as a partnership between Barry Baker and Larry Marcus, both former executives of Koplar Communications in St. Louis who had unsuccessfully tried to buy Koplar's KPLR-TV there.[1] Through a series of acquisitions between 1989 and 1995, River City amassed eight television stations and 29 radio stations in a total of 15 medium-sized markets, but most notably, in 1994, it bought out three network-affiliated TV stations and another four radio stations that were owned by Continental Broadcasting, formerly Anchor Media, including KOVR, WLOS, and WSYX.[2] [3] In the summer of 1994, River City and ABC reached an agreement to renew its existing contracts in Columbus and Asheville, while agreeing to affiliate its flagship at that time, and lame duck Fox affiliate KDNL-TV in St. Louis with ABC.[4] The acquisition of Keymarket Communications in 1995 added additional radio stations in the Buffalo, Los Angeles, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, and Scranton–Wilkes-Barre markets.[5] [6]
In May 1996, River City sold its stations to the Sinclair Broadcast Group for $1.2 billion.[7] [8] The merger moved Sinclair into the top 25 owners of broadcast properties in the United States.[9] Sinclair had to wait to close on some of the purchases; the Upstate South Carolina radio cluster was not acquired until 1998 because it overlapped with WLOS in Asheville, North Carolina, which serves the region.[10]
| City of license / Market | Station | Channel | Years owned | Current ownership status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento–Stockton–Modesto, CA | KOVR | 13 | 1994–1997 | CBS owned-and-operated (O&O) | |
| Bloomington–Indianapolis, IN | WTTV | 4 | 1991–1997 | CBS affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group | |
| Kokomo, IN | WTTK | 29 | 1991–1997 | CBS affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group | |
| Des Moines–Ames, IA | KDSM-TV | 17 | 1991–1997 | Fox affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| St. Louis, MO | KDNL-TV | 30 | 1989–1997 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| Columbus, OH | WSYX | 6 | 1994–1997 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| Asheville, NC–Greenville–Spartanburg, SC | WLOS | 13 | 1994–1997 | ABC/MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| WAXA/ WFBC-TV | 40 | 1994–1997 | Dabl affiliate WMYA-TV, owned by Cunningham Broadcasting | ||
| San Antonio, TX | KABB | 29 | 1989–1997 | Fox affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| AM Station | FM Station |
|---|
| City of license / Market | Station | Years owned | Current ownership status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Monica–Los Angeles, CA | KBLA 1580 | 1995–1996 | Multicultural Broadcasting |
| New Orleans, LA | WWL 870 | 1995–1996 | Audacy, Inc. |
| WSMB 1350 | 1995–1996 | WWWL
| |
| WLMG 101.9 | 1995–1996 | Audacy, Inc. | |
| KMEZ 102.9 | 1995–1996 | Cumulus Media | |
| St. Louis, MO | WVRV 101.1 | 1990–1996 | WXOS |
| KPNT 105.7 | –1996 | Hubbard Broadcasting | |
| Albuquerque, NM | KZSS 610 | 1994–1996 | KNML
|
| KZRR 94.1 | 1994–1996 | iHeartMedia | |
| KLSK 104.1 | 1994–1996 | KTEG
| |
| Buffalo, NY | WBEN 930 | 1995–1996 | Audacy, Inc. |
| WWKB 1520 | 1995–1996 | Audacy, Inc. | |
| WKSE 98.5 | 1995–1996 | Audacy, Inc. | |
| WMJQ 102.5 | 1995–1996 | WBKV | |
| Wilkes-Barre–Scranton, PA | WGBI 910 | 1995–1996 | WAAF
|
| WILK 980 | 1995–1996 | Audacy, Inc. | |
| WKRZ 98.5 | 1995–1996 | Audacy, Inc. | |
| WGGY 101.3 | 1995–1996 | Audacy, Inc. | |
| Greenville–Spartanburg, SC | WORD 910 | 1995–1998 | WOLI
|
| WSPA 950 | 1995–1998 | WORD
| |
| WFBC 1330 | 1995–1998 | WYRD
| |
| WFBC-FM 93.7 | 1995–1998 | Audacy, Inc. | |
| WSPA-FM 98.9 | 1995–1998 | Audacy, Inc. | |
| Memphis, TN | WJCE 680 | 1995–1996 | WMFS
|
| WOGY 94.1 | 1995–1996 | WMLE
| |
| WRVR 104.5 | 1995–1996 | Audacy, Inc. | |
| Nashville, TN | WLAC 1510 | 1995–1996 | iHeartMedia |
| WJCE-FM 101.1 | 1995–1996 | WUBT
| |
| WLAC-FM 105.9 | 1995–1996 | WNRQ
|