| Bonten Media Group, LLC | |
| Type: | Private Limited liability company |
| Industry: | Broadcast Television |
| Fate: | Acquired by Sinclair |
| Predecessor: | 14 stations from Bluestone Television |
| Successor: | Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Founders: | Randall D. Bongarten Diamond Castle Holdings |
| Hq Location: | Empire State Building |
| Hq Location City: | New York, New York |
| Hq Location Country: | USA |
| Parent: | Diamond Castle Holdings |
Bonten Media Group was a New York City-based owner of television broadcast stations in the United States. It was formed by Randall D. Bongarten and Diamond Castle Holdings in November 2006. Its first acquisition was 14 stations from Bluestone Television, founded by Sandy DiPasquale and Providence Equity Partners (who would later form Newport Television) on May 31, 2007.[1] [2] Bluestone had acquired the same stations from Lamco Communications in 2004.[3] On January 1, 2008, Bonten entered into an agreement with Esteem Broadcasting to provide services to the Fox affiliates (WFXI/WYDO) in the Greenville-New Bern market, in addition to WEMT in the Tri-Cities area of Northeastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia, bringing the number of stations which Bonten Media Group owns or provides services up to 16 from 13.
On April 21, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced its intent to purchase the Bonten stations for $240 million. The deal came immediately following the re-instatement of the "UHF discount", which reduces the calculated "reach" of a station for the purposes of national ownership limits if it broadcasts on a UHF channel.[4] The sale was approved on June 30,[5] and the sale was completed on September 1.[6] [7] [8] [9]
Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license.
| City of license / Market | Station | Channel | Years owned | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redding–Chico–Paradise, CA | KRCR-TV | 7 | 2007–2017 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| KXVU-LP | 17 | 2012–2017 | Antenna TV affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| KCVU | 20 | 2012–2017 | Fox affiliate owned by Cunningham Broadcasting | |
| KRVU-LD | 21 | 2012–2017 | MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| KZVU-LD | 22 | 2012–2017 | MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| KUCO-LP | 27 | 2012–2017 | Univision affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| KKTF-LD | 30 | 2012–2017 | UniMás affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| Arcata–Eureka, CA | KAEF-TV | 23 | 2007–2017 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| KBVU | 28 | 2012–2017 | Fox affiliate owned by Cunningham Broadcasting | |
| KECA-LD | 29 | 2012–2017 | The CW affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| KEUV-LP | 31 | 2012–2017 | Univision affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| Missoula, MT | KECI-TV | 13 | 2007–2017 | NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Kalispell, MT | KCFW-TV | 9 | 2007–2017 | NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Butte, MT | KTVM-TV | 6 | 2007–2017 | NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Bozeman, MT | KDBZ-CD | 42 | 2007–2017 | NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Greenville–New Bern–Morehead City, NC | WFXI | 8 | 2007–2017 | Defunct, ceased operations in 2017 |
| WYDO | 14 | 2007–2017 | Fox affiliate owned by Cunningham Broadcasting | |
| WCTI-TV | 12 | 2007–2017 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| Abilene, TX | KTXS-TV | 12 | 2007–2017 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| KTES-LD | 40 | 2007–2017 | TBD affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group | |
| San Angelo, TX | KTXE-LD | 38 | 2007–2017 | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Bristol, VA–Johnson City–Kingsport, TN | WCYB-TV | 5 | 2007–2017 | NBC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| WEMT | 39 | 2007–2017 | Fox affiliate owned by Cunningham Broadcasting |