Benedek Broadcasting
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Benedek Broadcasting was a television broadcasting company, that owned and operated 22 network-affiliated television stations throughout the United States, all affiliated with major television networks, serving mainly small and medium-size markets. The company was founded in the late 1970s by A. Richard Benedek but grew in the 1990s with buyouts of Brisette Broadcasting and Stauffer Communications. The company was based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Throughout its existence, namesake Benedek served as chairman and chief executive officer.
Benedek also owned U.S. Virgin Islands station WBNB-TV starting in 1986, but was knocked off the air by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Its facilities were so badly damaged that Benedek, with no financial resources to rebuild, essentially chose to abandon the station, and its license was deleted in 1995.
Benedek Broadcasting filed for bankruptcy in 2002, and sold off its 22 stations to different owners, many of them to Gray Television with the balance (all small or struggling stations) going to Chelsey Broadcasting. Barrington Broadcasting which began operations in 2004 with former Benedek president and COO K. James Yager as CEO, occupied what had been Benedek's headquarters and purchased two of the former Benedek stations which had been purchased by Chelsey, until it was acquired by Sinclair Broadcast Group in 2013.
Benedek Broadcasting had also operated Benedek Interactive Media, an 'Internet newsroom' that extended web-only coverage and editorial capabilities to its stations.
Former stations
[edit]Stations are arranged alphabetically by state and by city of license.
| City of license / Market | Station | Channel | Years owned | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dothan, AL | WTVY | 4 | 1995–2002 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Santa Maria–Santa Barbara–San Luis Obispo, CA | KCOY-TV | 12 | 1996–1999 | Telemundo affiliate owned by VistaWest Media, LLC[a] |
| Colorado Springs–Pueblo, CO | KKTV | 11 | 1999–2002 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Peoria, IL | WHOI | 19 | 1996–2002 | Comet TV affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Freeport–Rockford, IL | WIFR | 23 | 1986–2002 | Defunct, license cancelled in 2017[b] |
| Topeka, KS | WIBW-TV | 13 | 1996–2002 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Wichita, KS | KAKE-TV | 10 | 2000–2002 | ABC affiliate owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group |
| Bowling Green, KY | WBKO | 13 | 1983–2002 | ABC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Springfield–Holyoke, MA | WWLP | 22 | 1996–2000 | NBC affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group |
| Lansing, MI | WILX-TV | 10 | 1996–2002 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Duluth, MN | KDLH | 3 | 1985–2002 | The CW affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Meridian, MS | WTOK-TV | 11 | 1988–2002 | ABC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Columbia–Jefferson City, MO | KMIZ | 17 | 1996–2002 | ABC affiliate owned by News-Press & Gazette Company |
| Hannibal, MO–Quincy, IL | KHQA-TV | 7 | 1986–2002 | CBS affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Omaha, NE | WOWT-TV | 6 | 1999–2002 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Youngstown, OH | WYTV | 33 | 1985–2002 | ABC affiliate owned by Vaughan Media[c] |
| Odessa–Midland, TX | KOSA-TV | 7 | 1996–2000 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Wichita Falls, TX | KAUZ-TV | 6 | 1996–2002 | CBS affiliate owned by American Spirit Media[d] |
| Charlotte Amalie, USVI | WBNB-TV | 10 | 1986–1995 | Defunct, off-air in 1989; license cancelled in 1995 |
| Harrisonburg, VA | WHSV-TV | 3 | 1986–2002 | ABC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Parkersburg, WV | WTAP-TV | 15 | 1979–2002 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Wheeling, WV–Steubenville, OH | WTRF-TV | 7 | 1996–2002 | CBS affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group |
| Madison, WI | WMTV | 15 | 1996–2002 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Wausau–Rhinelander, WI | WSAW-TV | 7 | 1996–2002 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
| Casper, WY | KGWC-TV | 14 | 1996–2002 | CBS affiliate owned by Big Horn Television, LLC[e] |
| Cheyenne, WY | KGWN-TV | 5 | 1996–2002 | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television |
- ^ Operated through SSA by News-Press & Gazette Company.
- ^ Intellectual unit and CBS programming transferred to a Gray Television-owned license and renamed WIFR-LD.
- ^ Operated through SSA by Nexstar Media Group.
- ^ Operated through SSA by Gray Television.
- ^ Operated through an SSA by Coastal Television Broadcasting Company.