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group buysBy Steve DelaneyThe Hawk EyeA group of Texas-based investors has purchased KJMH, Burlington’s only television station.Kelley Broadcasting Co. will take over the station if it receives approval from the Federal Communications Commission, Kelley president Gerald Proctor said Tuesday. An application will be submitted within the next two weeks and the process will take about 90 days, Proctorsaid.Proctor, of suburban Houston, and other investors paid $405,000 for 80 percent of the station from Burlington Broadcasting Co., a group of local investors headed by Burlington attorney Steven Hoth. Burlington Broadcasting retains 20 percent ownership.KJMH will go off the air at midnight Friday and remain dark for four to six weeks while more than $100,000 worth of new equipment is installed. Among other things, the equipment is designed to provide better reception, Proctor said.Proctor, a broadcast broker, said he discussed with Hoth the possible sale of KJMH about a year ago He said he and his partners decided to buy the station rather than broker its sale.Kelley Broadcasting will manage the station for Hoth until the FCC rules on the group’s license application. Proctor said the area’s television advertising potential is untapped.“Burlington and Fort Madison and Mount Pleasant are in a unique situation on one hand and at a disadvantage on the other, principally because of the distance to other stations, Proctor said. “We felt this station can provide substantial benefits.The station has signed a contract with United Paramount Network, a new network expected to go on the air early next year. According to Proctor, the network’s approach mirrors that used by Fox when that network debuted about seven yearsago.Proctor said he has been in the broadcast industry for 50 years.Hoth said the station’s new owners will be better suited to invest in the station.‘This is what's known in the industry as a small market,” he said. “So, it really needs strong local support as well as the national support, and it requires a pretty substantial investment of money to fulfill everybody’s expectations and we feel thestation»*inew company will devote more capital iand more expertise as far as developing ’what we started.” *iHoth launched KJMH in December* 1987 *“I think the people that are coming in are going to be in a position to do some real positive things with the station,”Hoth said. V,Proctor said local broadcasting eventually will be part of the station’s mix, though initially it will be on a limitedbull.“I think a television station is in some ways what marks a community, and we’ve continued to strive to develop what I feel is a good station, and frankly it’s a real battle in a small market,” Hoth said.f
Newspaper Details
Burlington Hawk Eye
Burlington, Iowa, US
Wed, Nov 09, 1994
Page 19
Full Page
Clipped by
Sammi B.
NA 01 Mar 2023
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