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Turner sells WRET

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Turner sells WRET TURNER By BOB WISEHART News Entertainment Editor The mood was gleeful this morning at WRET (Channel 36), as employees digested, the news that their station being sold to the Westinghouse Broadcasting Co., one of the most respected communications companies in the country. At least three onthe -air personalities who were looking for jobs elsewhere immediately de• TURNER cided to stay when they learned that Westinghouse is buying WRET from the Atlantabased Turner Communications Corp. for a price sources say is about $19 million. Westinghouse spokesman Jay Francis, the said a deal last "handshake" week but was the official agreement in principle was reached late Tuesday. The deal still must be approved by the Westinghouse Electric Corp. board, the Federal Communications Commission and the Turner Communications Corp. Though such approval is routine, it still takes time. Westinghouse may not take over WRET until early next year. However, Francis said another Westinghouse deal to buy a Houston radio station is expected to be approved in four or five months, so the WRET takeover could be sooner. Westinghouse was one of 17 broadcasting firms to express interest in buying WRET. Representatives from more than seven visited the station over the last three months. Westinghouse owns VHF (very high frequency) television stations in Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsurgh, San Francisco and Baltimore. It. also owns seven AM and two FM radio stations, but no UHF (ultra high frequency) television stations. WRET is a UHF station. Westinghouse is the fourth largest. broadcasting group in the country, after ABC, NBC and CBS, and has been a longtime leader in news and public affairs programming. "It. couldn't have turned out better for us," said a WRET employee who asked not to be identified. "We go from al outfit that has money problems like Turner to probably the best group in the country." Since it affiliated with NBC in July, sources say, WRET has "faced barely a break -even situation." Atlanta millionaire Ted Turner bought WRET in 1969 for $1.25 million. Turner owns the Atlanta Braves baseball team and the Atlanta Hawks basketball team.
Article from 16 May 1979The Charlotte News(Charlotte, NC)
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