Fox gets San Francisco TV stations in swap with Cox
Fox has landed two television stations in San Francisco.
The media giant, which has long wanted stations in the nation’s sixth-largest market, traded its Boston and Memphis stations to Cox Media Group for its San Francisco outlets.
The two San Francisco stations are KTVU-TV, a Fox affiliate, and KICU-TV, an independent station. The Fox stations that Cox is getting are WFXT-TV Boston and WHBQ-TV Memphis, which are in the seventh- and 48th-largest markets, respectively.
San Francisco appeals to Fox because the network has the rights to the National Football Conference and the city is home to the 49ers.
As a deal sweetener for Cox, Fox struck long-term affiliation deals with the Boston and Memphis stations.
Gregg Kelley, the general manager of Fox’s Boston station, will relocate to San Francisco to run KTVU-TV and KICU-TV.
The trade will require approval from the Federal Communications Commission, but the addition of the two San Francisco stations will not put Fox in violation of the regulatory agency’s caps on TV station ownership.
Follow Joe Flint on Twitter @JBFlint.
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