KFSM: The Deal is Done

Source: Fort Smith Times Record Fort Wright, Ky.-based Local TV LLC paid $575 million on Monday to the New York Times Co. to buy KFSM Channel 5, and eight other stations.

KFSM is the CBS affiliate that operates in the Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas television market.

Local TV is an entity created by Stamford, Conn.-based Oak Hill Capital Partners that announced a sale agreement with the New York Times Co. in January.

Pam Taylor, Local TV chief financial officer, said the New York Times had a large corporate staff managing its television properties. Local TV’s management team will be leaner and grant its stations more autonomy, Taylor said.

That doesn’t mean an absence of change, though.

“The additional focus will be on local sales, growing the local advertising pie as opposed to national ad and agency ad buys,” she said.

No plans exist to consolidate sales offices or centralize operations.

“The changes we enacted immediately are the only changes we anticipate,” KFSM general manager Van Comer said. “We did do some restructuring. We eliminated some positions. Now, we anticipate moving forward with Local TV LLC. We continue to be the local news leader. That is our core product, and that’s not going to change. In fact, we expect to add staff.”

Comer too will be staying on.

“Just for the record, I am still employed,” he said. “I read online where I was let go. It was one of those blogs online that someone was kind enough to send to me.”