by Andrew Muckell

[1]

Gannett Co., Inc.
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22107-0150
703-854-6000

History

Gannett Broadcasting is the television division of the Gannett Company, Inc., which was founded in 1923. The founder and first president, Frank Gannett, originally intended the business to specialize in the newspaper industry. As the century passed and technology moved forward, however, Gannett delved into other industries. [2]

By the 1930s, the Gannett Newspaper Group was recognized as the largest upstate New York chain. The company resembled Hearst and other large players in the print industry with its ambitious expansion, and, like its competitors, expanded into new markets and industries. Gannett added its first two radio stations in 1936 and first two TV stations in 1953. [2]

Four years later, the aging Gannett passed the reigns on to his successor, Paul Miller, who took Gannett’s 25 newspapers and created a nationwide brand. The company expanded ruthlessly and became one of the first public newspaper companies in the U.S. In 1971, Miller averaged one newspaper acquisition every three weeks, eventually bringing Gannett’s holdings to 79 papers by the time of his retirement in 1979. [3]

Miller also oversaw the development of the broadcasting division of the company from 1957 to 1973. Under Miller, Gannett added three more stations to its repertoire, and this was only the beginning. By the late 1970s and early- to mid-1980s, Gannett Broadcasting, Inc. acquired about a dozen stations.

Today, the Gannett Broadcasting division of the company owns 23 stations in 20 different markets and is the largest owner of NBC-affiliated stations. [4] These stations cover 18.04% of American households, indicating the company’s market reach of 20.1 million households. [5] Gannett Company, Inc. is considered the number one newspaper publisher in America in daily circulation with 81 newspapers, most notably the U.S.’s first national newspaper, USA Today. The company also owns 13 digital assets such as Cars.com and CareerBuilder.com. [6] Stocks are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (GCI), and Gannett is listed on the S&P 500.

Leadership

Mr. David T. Lougee, President of Gannett Broadcasting- Lougee was made president of the television division of Gannett Co., Inc. in 2007. He serves as Chairman of the Television Bureau of Advertising and is on the Board for Mobile Content Venture. He has worked in the television industry since 1981, both with Gannett and Belo TV, and in the Denver, Washington D.C., Dallas and Seattle markets. [7]

Gracia C Martore, President and CEO of Gannett Company- Martore succeeded former CEO Craig Dubow in October 2011, who retired for health reasons. She started her career at Gannett in 1985 as an assistant treasurer after a dozen years in the banking industry, and by 2003 she became CFO. Since 2011, Fortune Magazine named her one of the “50 most powerful women” in business, and Forbes listed her as one of business’s “100 Most Powerful Women.” [8]

Other notable members of the Gannett Broadcasting Division are:

• Ms. Dodie Cantrell-Bickley, President and GM of the Jacksonville Stations

• Mr. Ken Tonning, President and GM of WTSP-TV

• Mr. Steve Carter, President  and GM of WCSH-TV [9]

Finances

Currently, Gannett is doing very well financially. The company averages $7.6 billion in annual operating revenue and employs about 52,600 worldwide. [10] In 2012, the company made a profit of $588.2 million and saw 6.8% and 7.5% revenue increases in digital and television broadcasting, respectively. [11] Gannett is listed as number 465 in Fortune 500 and averages $5,239.99 million in sales.[12]

In the past year, Gannett (GCI) saw highs and lows on the stock market. On June 1, the stock price dropped to $12.33, but three months later on September 21 the price rose to $18.75, the year-to-date high. The all-time low price ($2.14) came in March 2009, shortly after the start of the recession, while the all-time high in April 2004 was $90.42. The closing price on December 3 was $18.04. [13]

[14]

Part of the reason for the rise in stock prices in late summer and early fall was due to the Olympics and ads for the presidential campaigns. The media company earned $133.1 million ($0.56 per share) in July, August and September, which went up 33% from the $99.9 million a year before. As compared to quarter two, quarter three revenue grew three percent from $1.27 billion to $1.31 billion. [15]

Assets [16]

Gannett Broadcasting currently owns 23 stations in 20 markets across the nation. The list below includes the locations, names, and affiliates of these stations:

• Arizona- KNAZ– NBC (Flagstaff)

• Arkansas- KTHV– CBS (Little Rock)

• California- KXTV– ABC (Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto)

• Colorado- KUSA– NBC, KTVD– MyNetworkTV (Denver)

• Florida-  – WTLV– NBC, WJXX– ABC (Jacksonville); WTSP– CBS (Tampa-St. Petersburg)

• Georgia – WXIA– NBC, WATL– MyNetworkTV (Atlanta); WMAZ– CBS (Macon)

• Maine – WLBZ– NBC (Bangor); WCSH– NBC (Portland)

• Michigan – WZZM– ABC- (Grand Rapids)

[17]

• Missouri – KSDK– NBC (St. Louis)

• New York – WGRZ– NBC (Buffalo)

• North Carolina – WFMY– CBS (Greensboro)

• Ohio – WKYC– NBC (Cleveland)

• South Carolina- WLTX– CBS (Columbia)

• Tennessee – WBIR– NBC (Knoxville)

• Washington D.C.– WUSA– CBS

Recent News 

Paywall Working for Gannett

Studies have shown recently that, unlike many media competitors, Gannett Co., Inc. is making money through the use of paywalls. Out of 80 U.S. newspaper markets, 49 use paywalls, but despite a slight decrease in website visitors per month, revenue has risen. Experts have attributed Gannett’s success with “paywalling” to its prior customer brand loyalty. This can be seen with similar brands, such as the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. Gannett expects to make $100 million in 2012 from its paywalls. [18]

[19]

On August 21, Gannett Co., Inc. acquired the “social marketing solutions provider” Blinq for an undisclosed amount and terms. Blinq is one of Facebook’s favored Marketing Developers and was one of the first marketing companies to gain access to the site’s API. Blinq now will operate under the Gannett name, but the current CEO of Blinq, Dave Williams, will now report to the President and CEO at Gannett Digital Marketing Services Vikram Sharma. Other than this, though, Blinq will not change too much: the company will still work with its current clients and out of its pre-established headquarters. [20]

Gannett Company CEO Gracia Martore said she hopes the acquisition will create a “one-stop shop for all marketing needs, including social.” The hope for marketing self-sufficiency within Gannett could very well pay off for Gannett. Emarketer.com estimates social media ad revenues will rise 48.5% this year to $7.7 billion, and Blinq may make Gannett’s slice of that pie even bigger. [21]

USA Today Gets Makeover

In 1982, USA Today was introduced to the American public as the country’s first national and color newspaper. Since, it has become the most widely circulated newspaper in the U.S., despite some criticism for its emphasis on graphics, pictures and concision. For the first time in 30 years, USA Today adopted a refreshing new look in September. The paper added more color, a new logo and a cleaner look that adapts well to tablets.

The purpose of the new layout is to re-establish the newspaper as a current, interesting source for readers and an attractive investment for advertisers. The public has met the new look with some hostility, saying the format is harder to read [22], but overall sales have been steady since the change. [23]

Scuffles between Dish and Gannett Rise

On October 8, Dish and Gannett agreed to a new distribution deal after a few weeks of talking over new prices for licensing fees. Dish claimed that Gannett was trying to triple its previous rates, but Gannett representatives said that they were only keeping with market rates.

The dispute was also over Dish’s new DVR that allows customers to play back shows without the hassle of commercials. The service, called Hopper, negatively impacts advertisers by decreasing consumer reach. Gannett executives felt the service hurts the company’s relationship with advertisers and were thus much more cautious in reaching a deal.

If the deal was not made, two million viewers in 19 cities would have lost access to local Gannett stations, many of which are affiliated with CBS, NBC, Fox and ABC. Shortly after the deal, both companies lost at least $0.11 on the stock market. In the long run, however, the deal is perceived as mutually beneficial for the companies. [24]

Sources

[1]- Lieberman, David. “Gannett Beats Q3 Earnings Estimates with Help from Olympic and Political Ads.” http://www.deadline.com/2012/10/gannett-q3-earnings/. Deadline.

[2]- “Gannett Company, Inc. History.” http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/gannett-company-inc-history/. Funding Universe.

[3]- Neiva, Elizabeth. “Chain Building: the Consolidation of the American Newspaper Industry, 1955-1980.” http://www.h-net.org/~business/bhcweb/publications/BEHprint/v024n1/p0022-p0026.pdf

[4]- Bachman, Katy. “Gannett Scores with Olympics.” http://www.adweek.com/news/television/gannett-scores-olympics-114801. Adweek.

[5]- “Who is Gannett?” http://gannettonline.com/external/email/about/who.htm. Gannett Digital.

[6]- “Our Locations.” http://www.gannett.com/section/WHOWEARE06. Gannett.

[7]- “Leadership Team.” http://www.gannett.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?Dato=99999999&Kategori=WHOWEARE04&Lopenr=110714007&Ref=AR. Gannett.

[8]- “Leadership Team.” http://www.gannett.com/article/99999999/WHOWEARE04/110714008. Gannett.

[9]- “Leadership Team.” http://www.gannett.com/article/99999999/WHOWEARE04/110714008. Gannett.

[10]- “Who is Gannett?” http://gannettonline.com/external/email/about/who.htm. Gannett Digital.

[11]- “The 10 Most Profitable Media Companies.” http://www.bestcommunicationsdegrees.com/biggest-media-companies/. Best Communications Degrees.

[12]- “Company Search.” http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/company-search.html?term=Gannett. Hoovers.

[13]- “Gannett Co., Inc.” http://www.google.com/finance?q=GCI&ei=KIm9UIDtL6fs0gHTmwE. Google Finance.

[14]- “Gannett Co., Inc.” http://www.google.com/finance?q=GCI&ei=2JW9UIjoFILl0QHyUA. Google Finance.

[15]- “Gannett Reports Higher Q3 Earnings, Revenue.” http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-10-15/gannett-reports-higher-3q-earnings-revenue. Bloomberg Businessweek.

[16]- “Who Owns What.” http://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php. Columbia Journalism Review.

[17]- Knox, Merrill. “WUSA Web Producer Accidentally Plagiarizes Washington Post Article.” http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/wusa-web-producer-accidentally-lifts-pieces-of-an-article-from-washington-post_b33895. Media Bistro.

[18]- Voakes, Greg. “Infographic: the Paywall Trend.” http://www.businessinsider.com/infographic-the-paywall-trend-2012-11. Business Insider.

[19]- Lunden, Ingrid. “Confirmed: Gannett has Bought Social Media Ad Company Blinq.” http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/21/confirmed-gannett-is-buying-social-media-ads-company-blinq/. Tech Crunch.

[20]- “Tech Deals, Mergers and Skirmishes.” http://cynopsis.com/index.php/editions/digital/082212/. Cynopsis.

[21]- Yu, Roger. “Gannett Buy Social Media Ad Company Blinq Media.” http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/media/story/2012-08-21/gannett-acquires-blinq-media/57191320/1. USA Today.

[22]- Matheson, Whitney. “Have You Seen the New USA Today?” http://content.usatoday.com/communities/popcandy/post/2012/09/17/usa-today-redesign/70000480/1#.UL2A3ZPjkkc. USA Today.

[23]- “USA Today Gets First Significant Makeover in 30 Years.” http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-09-14/business/chi-usa-today-gives-itself-first-significant-makeover-in-30-years-20120914_1_usa-today-mcpaper-gannett. Chicago Tribune.

[24]- “Dish, Gannett Reach Agreement over TV Fees.” http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-10-08/dish-gannett-continue-negotiations-on-tv-fees. Bloomberg Businessweek.