Texas’ Nexstar takes ownership of KRQE-TV
KASA sold to local Telemundo affiliate
Albuquerque’s CBS and Fox TV affiliate has new ownership.
KRQE is now part of Nexstar Media Group following Nexstar’s acquisition of KRQE’s parent company, Media General Inc.
The deal, previously announced but completed this week, might mean channel number changes for some local viewers, but others will see no difference. KRQE General Manager Bill Anderson said Wednesday that Comcast/ XFINITY and Dish Network subscribers should not experience any change. DirecTV moved the Fox content to Channel 16, while over-the-air viewers will now find Fox New Mexico on Channel 13.2.
That’s because Media General sold the KASA signal ( Channel 2) to the local Telemundo affiliate as part of the acquisition.
“We had to divest KASA, but we were able to keep all the programming, all the people, everything everybody knows and loves about that station . ... It’s really a save for having been forced to divest one of our TV licenses,” Anderson said.
While selling the KASA license was a “sentimental loss,” he said it was required since federal law prevents the sale of two “top four” stations in a market to the same company. KASA had the fifth-highest market share when Media General bought it about 10 years ago but had since cracked the top four, Anderson said.
Nexstar’s acquisition of Media General, valued at about $4.6 billion in cash and stock, means Texas-headquartered Nexstar now has 171 television stations in 100 markets, according to a news release. Anderson said KRQE becomes the company’s first New Mexico station, although the company has had a presence in El Paso. He said the deal now gives KRQE a number of new sister stations throughout the region. Media General had about 43 stations, he said, while Nexstar now describes itself as the second-largest television broadcaster in the U.S.
“I’m real excited about this part — I think we’re going to have an enhanced regional news-gathering mechanism that’s going to make us really much stronger,” Anderson said.