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Channel 23 buyout scobidder fumesBy Barbara F. CowanStaff WriterA Duncansville-area man has lost out on his bid to buy local TV station WWPC, Channel 23 — a move which would have included the purchase and renovation of the Playhouse Theater for the station’s studio.J. Thomas Conners, former manager of WTAJ-TV 10, announced his thwarted plans this morning at a news conference held at the Altoona-Blair County Chamber of Commerce.According to Conners, a price was negotiated. But the station’s owner, Johnstown-based Evergreen Broadcasting Corp., decided not to sell after the Federal Communications Commission ruled that Evergreen could operate Channel 23 as an ABC affiliate and the ABC affiliation was secured.At the same time, Evergreen will retain operation of WWCP Channel 8 as a Fox network station serving the same area — a dual network ownership Conners questions.“I’m deeply concerned by the FCC’s approval of this venture where one company in a market is entitled to two stations,”The proposal called for studios to be located in the Playhouse Theater.Conners said.“This certainly doesn’t smack of fairness,” he said of the situation.His questions on the matter to the FCC resulted in “a lot of hot air,” he said.Conners admits he is disappointed, but he hasn’t given up yet. He said he will be meeting with his attorneys in Washington, D.C., to “make some evaluations on the commission’s approval.”He did not rule out a lawsuit, but said his chances of having an opportunity to operate Channel 23 are slim. “It’s a long shot. It would be a very long shot,” he said.The television studio, planned by Conners, would have employed 31 to start and could have had 50 employees by the end of the firstyear with the bulk of the employees, 13 to 20, involved in a local news department, he said.The Playhouse, at 143112th Ave., has been vacant since October 1982.“My only wish is that Evergreen Broadcasting feels a sense of community too,” Conners said.He said he had been negotiating as Jotocon Communications Inc. with Evergreen for two years. Jotocon, a Pennsylvania corporation, stands for John Thomas Conners.A purchase price, which Conners did not release, was reached and was not the stumbling block in the sale, he said.“We had raised close to $5 million,” he said, adding that he traveled to New York, California, Texas and Washington to raise the money.He said he was “lead to believe the station was for sale in late May.” He learned from Evergreen officials the week of June 20 that the station was no longer for sale.Jotocon will remain in place, Conners said. But at this point he has no plans to pursue any other broadcast ventures.“We have to exhaust where we are before we move on,” he said.Mirror file photoPlans called for purchase of Playhouse Theater
Newspaper Details
Altoona Mirror
Altoona, Pennsylvania, US
Wed, Jul 06, 1988
Page 11
Full Page
Clipped by
Sammi B.
NA 27 Sep 2023
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