NEW YORK—After receiving all the required regulatory approvals, Hearst has announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of WBBH-TV from Waterman Broadcasting Corporation. 

Hearst did not release financial terms but the deal has been reported to be worth about $220 million. 

The NBC-affiliated television station is the market leader serving the Fort Myers and Naples, Florida, DMA. WBBH-TV also broadcasts the Heroes & Icons network on a digital sub-channel.   

Under the transaction, Hearst assumes Waterman Broadcasting’s programming relationship with Montclair Communications, Inc., owner of WZVN-TV, the market’s ABC affiliate. WZVN-TV also broadcasts the MeTV and Dabl networks on its digital sub-channels.

“The Waterman family has served southwest Florida with unparalleled community service and outstanding journalism,” said Jordan Wertlieb, executive vice president and COO of Hearst. “We at Hearst are steadfast in this commitment to local broadcasting as we have been throughout Florida for over 25 years.” 

Longtime Waterman Broadcasting executive and WBBH-TV vice president and station manager Darrel Lieze-Adams will continue in this role and succeed Steve Pontius, who recently announced his retirement, with market oversight.

“Darrel has a passion for WBBH and has served the station and southwest Florida for 26 years as news director and station manager,” Hayes said. “We are eager to join him to continue the outstanding work being done.”  

In addition to WBBH-TV, Hearst Television’s Florida stations include WESH-TV and WKCF-TV, the NBC and CW affiliates in Orlando; WPBF-TV, the ABC affiliate serving West Palm Beach; and WMOR-TV, an independent television station in Tampa-St. Petersburg. Hearst Television reaches nearly one out of every five households in the U.S.

WBBH-TV and WZVN-TV have earned multiple awards for compelling and in-depth journalism and for service to the Fort Myers and Naples communities. Collectively, the stations earned three national Edward R. Murrow Awards in 2022 from the Radio Television Digital News Association.

Fort Myers/Naples is the 55th largest television market in the United States. The acquisition adds a 12th NBC affiliate to the Hearst station group. Hearst will now operate two NBC and two ABC stations in the state of Florida. 

WBBH-TV went on the air in December 1968 as the market’s NBC affiliate. Waterman Broadcasting Corporation was founded by Bernard Waterman in 1956 when he purchased WAAB-AM in Worcester, Massachusetts. WBBH and what is now WZVN began a programming relationship in 1994.  

NEW YORK—Hearst has agreed to acquire WBBH-TV from Waterman Broadcasting Corporation in a deal that will add the NBC-affiliated television station serving the Fort Myers and Naples, Florida, DMA to its presence in the Florida market. 

WBBH-TV also broadcasts the Heroes & Icons network on a digital sub-channel. 

Financial terms were not disclosed. 

Under the transaction, Hearst will assume Waterman Broadcasting’s programming relationship with Montclair Communications, Inc., owner of WZVN-TV, the market’s ABC affiliate. WZVN-TV also broadcasts the MeTV and Dabl networks on its digital sub-channels.

The anticipated closing date for the transaction is third-quarter 2023, pending completion of all regulatory approvals.

The acquisition of WBBH-TV expands Hearst’s presence in Florida. The company owns WESH-TV and WKCF-TV, the NBC and CW affiliates in Orlando; WPBF-TV, the ABC affiliate serving the West Palm Beach television market; and WMOR-TV, an independent television station in Tampa-St. Petersburg. Hearst Television reaches nearly one out of every five households in the U.S.

WBBH-TV and WZVN-TV have earned multiple awards for compelling and in-depth journalism and service to the Fort Myers and Naples communities. Collectively, the stations earned three national Edward R. Murrow Awards in 2022 from the Radio Television Digital News Association.

“This transaction provides an excellent strategic fit for our company and underscores our commitment to local television broadcasting and to leadership in our television markets across the country,” Steven R. Swartz, president and CEO of Hearst said.

“Bernie and Edith Waterman have been outstanding stewards of WBBH-TV and the programming relationship with WZVN-TV,” added Jordan Wertlieb, president of Hearst Television Inc. “They have served the viewers of Fort Myers and Naples with distinction since 1979. Of course, both stations provided important lifesaving coverage during Hurricane Ian and have been providing information and updates as the area recovers and rebuilds. We are proud to have been selected to continue the legacy of such distinguished broadcasters.”

"The decision to sell WBBH is challenging and emotional," commented Edith B. Waterman, president of Waterman Broadcasting. "We have had the great privilege of proudly serving southwest Florida for more than four decades. Broadcasting has filled our lives with wonderful relationships and deep ties to our communities. I am so grateful to all the talented and dedicated employees who made our innovative stations pillars of their communities and great places to work and grow over the last 67 years.”

Fort Myers/Naples is the 55th largest television market in the United States. The acquisition would add a 12th NBC affiliate to the Hearst station group. Hearst also owns 14 ABC affiliates. Both represent significant partnerships with the respective networks.

WBBH-TV went on the air in December 1968 as the market’s NBC affiliate. Waterman Broadcasting Corporation was founded by Bernard Waterman in 1956 when he purchased WAAB-AM in Worcester, Massachusetts. WBBH and what is now WZVN began a programming relationship in 1994.

FORT MYERS, FLA.—Waterman Broadcasting has installed two identical Solid State Logic System T audio production consoles –one for its WBBH-TV NBC affiliate, the other for WZVN-TV, the Montclair Communications ABC affiliate it operates under a local marketing agreement, in twin control rooms with a Tempest Control Rack for backup and disaster recover.

“The primary role of the station is news and we do, depending on how you want to count them, 19 to 21 newscasts per day over the two stations,” said Waterman Broadcasting director of production Bob Hannon.

“The two stations are in one building, the news staffs are in one building, but the shows are produced completely separately. It’s like working in the Ark: we have two of everything.”

Each console system consists of a 32-fader S300 control surface with a T25 256 path engine and 512 channels of I/O. The Tempest Control Rack serves as a backup that can be controlled via a desktop touchscreen.

The setup ensures the broadcaster does not have a single point of failure, an important design consideration for Waterman given Fort Myers’ hurricane-prone location. During a hurricane, the stations begin simulcasting the same programming on both channels.

The system Waterman installed enables the broadcaster to “do everything from one spot,” said Hannon. The flexibility of the S300 allows operators in one control room to access every audio source in the facility.

“It also lets us use one control room for x amount of time, have the other control room fired up and ready, let them take over, and that gives us time to do any preventive maintenance or just let things breathe in the first control room for a little while,” he said.

Hannon also identified ease of use as an important factor contributing to the broadcaster’s decision to select the S300. Most of Hannon’s 42-member staff are in their first jobs and have been trained in-house, making ease of use especially important.

While the S300 is “a powerful board,” he said, “it’s simple in its design, and that’s what drew me to it,” said Hannon.

"I’m a firm believer that the simpler you keep it the more you can do, the better your productions are, and the better your product is. And that’s what System T allows us to do.”

WAYNE, N.J.—Fort Meyers, Fla.-based Waterman Broadcasting recently acquired a fleet of cameras from JVC Professional Video for its co-located news operations of WBBH-TV and WZVN-TV. Waterman brought on 33 GY-HM890 and 11 GY-HM660 ProHD cameras to help produce the stations’ 14 hours of daily local news coverage.

Waterman’s multimedia journalists will reportedly use the GY-HM660 cameras, which feature an integrated IFB audio channel and video-over-IP capabilities for simultaneous delivery and communication with the studio. The GY-HM890s will be used in the studio, according to Waterman.

In addition, Waterman has purchased a JVC BR-800 ProHD Broadcaster to support live video-over-IP ENG reports. The new broadcaster server is designed to receive and manage input streams from multiple ProHD and 4KCAM cameras.

JVC Professional Video is a division of JVCKenwood USA and is located in Wayne, N.J.

PORTLAND, ORE.—Rentrak has announced it has signed a long-term TV measurement deal with Waterman Broadcasting, which is based in Fort Myers, Fla.

Waterman Broadcasting runs NBC affiliate WBBH-TV and ABC affiliate WZVN-TV. Both stations will now use Rentrak’s daily demographic and household ratings, as well as Rentrak’s political Advanced Demographics.

“Rentrak’s stable daily demographics and advanced political ratings give us the powerful tools we need to provide our advertisers with the best and most relevant audience information available every day of the year,” explained Steve Pontius, executive vice president and general manager at Waterman Broadcasting.

Rentrak is a provider of consumer measurement tools for both TV and film with its headquarters located in Portland, Ore.