Harry J. Pappas wants to spent more time with his family and simplify his life.
So, Pappas Telecasting Companies, the largest privately held commercial television broadcaster in the country, has retained Moelis & Company, a New York-based financial advisory and management form, to assess strategic alternatives—selling stations, for example—for the company.
We contemplate that this review will result in the sale of a number of our television station assets,” Chairman and CEO Harry J. Pappas said in a statement.
A Pappas spokesman said there was no connection between the timing of the announcement and the FCC’s order earlier Tuesday that could allow newspaper owners in the top 20 markets to own TV stations (if the stations are not in the market’s top four, and if other conditions are met). Pappas owns Spanish-language stations in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston, which are top-20 markets and thus might be targeted by newspaper owners for acquisition.
But because of threats of lawsuits and legislation, it’s unclear when the FCC’s relaxation of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban would take effect, if ever.
Pappas, based in Visalia, Calif., owns 27 stations.
