| Northwest Broadcasting, Inc. | |
| Type: | Private |
| Fate: | Acquired by Cox Media Group |
| Successor: | Cox Media Group |
| Key People: | Brian Brady (President & CEO) |
| Location City: | Okemos, Michigan, U.S. |
Northwest Broadcasting, Inc. was a television broadcasting company based in Okemos, Michigan, United States, a suburb of Lansing. The broadcasting group owned or operated twelve television stations in six markets, through subsidiaries such as Broadcasting Communications, Mountain Communications, Stainless Broadcasting, and Bristlecone Broadcasting.[1]
Northwest Broadcasting was formed in 1995 by Brian Brady to acquire the television stations of Salmon River Communications, including KAYU-TV in Spokane, Washington, K68EB in Yakima, Washington, KBWU-LP in the Tri-Cities (Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, Washington), and KMVU in Medford, Oregon.[2] In 1997, Northwest purchased Stainless, Inc. for $17 million; while Stainless was primarily a manufacturer of broadcasting towers, the purchase also added WICZ-TV in Binghamton, New York and KTVZ in Bend, Oregon to Northwest's station group.[3] [4] Stainless had owned broadcast stations since purchasing WICZ (then known as WINR-TV) in 1971.[5] Though Northwest would sell the Stainless tower company to SpectraSite Holdings in 1999[6] and KTVZ to News-Press & Gazette Company in 2002,[7] it still owns WICZ-TV under the Stainless Broadcasting Company name.
Brian Brady expanded his broadcast holdings in 2002, when he teamed up with Alta Communications to acquire the K-Six Television stations under the name Eagle Creek Broadcasting;[8] Alta had also invested in Northwest Broadcasting in 1996.[9] Alta divested its interest in Northwest Broadcasting in 2007[10] and in Eagle Creek Broadcasting in 2013.[11] During the 2010s, Brady acquired additional stations through companies such as Blackhawk Broadcasting,[12] Bristlecone Broadcasting,[13] and Cedar Creek Broadcasting.[14] These companies have occasionally made joint filings with Northwest Broadcasting in Federal Communications Commission proceedings under the name "The TV Station Group."[15]
In February 2019, Reuters reported that Apollo Global Management had agreed to acquire the entirety of Brian Brady's television portfolio, which it intends to merge with Cox Media Group (which Apollo is acquiring at the same time) and stations spun off from Nexstar Media Group's purchase of Tribune Broadcasting, once the purchases are approved by the FCC.[16] In March 2019 filings with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Apollo confirmed that its newly-formed broadcasting group, Terrier Media, would acquire Northwest Broadcasting, with Brian Brady holding an unspecified minority interest in Terrier.[17] In June 2019, it was announced that Terrier Media would instead operate as Cox Media Group, as Apollo had reached a deal to also acquire Cox's radio and advertising businesses.[18] The transaction was completed on December 17.[19]
Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license.
| City of license / Market | Station | Channel | Years owned | Current status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuma, AZ–El Centro, CA | KYMA-DT | 11 | 2014-2019 | Defunct, license surrendered in 2020 | |
| KSWT | 13 | 2014-2019 | CBS/NBC affiliate KYMA-DT, owned by Imagicomm Communications | ||
| Eureka, CA | 3 | 2017–2019 | NBC affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | ||
| KVIQ | 17 | 2016–2017 | Defunct, went dark in 2018,[20] [21] license cancelled in 2020[22] | ||
| 14 | 2016–2019 | CBS affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | |||
| Pocatello–Idaho Falls, ID | 6 | 2016–2019 | NBC affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | ||
| Twin Falls, ID | 35 | 2016–2017 | Tri-State Christian Television owned-and-operated (O&O) | ||
| Bowling Green, KY | WKNT/WNKY | 40 | 1997–2003 | NBC affiliate owned by Marquee Broadcasting | |
| Alexandria, LA | 31 | 2018–2019 | ABC affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | ||
| KWCE-LP | 27 | 2018–2019 | Defunct, license surrendered in 2021 | ||
| Greenville–Greenwood, MS | WABG-TV | 6 | 2016–2019 | ABC affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | |
| WFXW | 15 | 2016–2019 | Tri-State Christian Television owned-and-operated (O&O) | ||
| WNBD-LD | 33 | 2016–2019 | NBC affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | ||
| WXVT-LD | 17 | 2017–2019 | CBS affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | ||
| Binghamton, NY | WICZ-TV | 40 | 1997–2019 | Fox affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | |
| WBPN-LP | 10 | 2000–2019 | Defunct, license surrendered in 2021 | ||
| Syracuse, NY | WSYT | 68 | 2013–2019 | Fox affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | |
| WNYS-TV | 43 | 2013–2019 | Defunct, license surrendered in 2020 | ||
| Bend, OR | 21 | 1997–2002 | NBC affiliate owned by News-Press & Gazette Company | ||
| Medford, OR | KMVU-DT | 26 | 1995–2019 | Fox affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | |
| KMCW-LP | 14 | 2013–2016 | Defunct, license cancelled in 2016 | ||
| KFBI-LD | 48 | 2013–2019 | MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | ||
| Corpus Christi, TX | KZTV | 10 | 2002–2010 | CBS affiliate owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting | |
| Laredo, TX | 13 | 2002–2015 | Defunct, went dark in 2015 | ||
| KNEX-LP | 14 | 2012–2015 | CBS affiliate KYLX-LD channel 13, owned by Gray Television | ||
| Spokane, WA | KAYU-TV | 28 | 1996–2019 | Fox affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | |
| Tri-Cities–Yakima, WA | KFFX-TV | 11 | 1999–2019 | Fox affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | |
| KCYU-LD | 41 | 1996–2019 | Fox affiliate owned by Imagicomm Communications | ||
| Walla Walla, WA | KBKI | 9 | 2001–2002 | Defunct, went dark in 2008 as KCWK |