KLUGE

-1946: John W. Kluge reads in the Wall Street Journal of radio licenses going for $15,000 and the grocer’s rep gets license for WGAY am/fm Silver Spring MD for $90,000

-1952: Kluge acquires Mid-Florida Radio Corporation, part-owning it's WOLF until 1957

-1953: Kluge acquires the St. Louis Broadcasting Corporation, only selling interest in KXLV 1320 in 1957

-1954: Kluge acquires Pittsburgh Broadasting Company, turning WILY into WEEP before selling it in 195X

-1954: Kluge acquires Nashville’s Capitol Broadcasting Company, selling WKDA 1240 to an investor group headed by Pat Boone

-15 September 1955: Telecenter, network facilities, WABD and WTTG transferred to the Du Mont Broadcasting Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary, which voted itself spun off 10 October 1955, (occurring 02 December 1955). Legally occurred 14 November 1955, pursuant to FCC okay of 17 November 1955

-1957: New York's WNEW (am/ fm) bought. 

-1957: Associated Broadcasters (Dallas Ft Worth) acquired by Kluge

-1957: Kluge becomes a partner in Western New York Broadcasting (Buffalo), selling WXRA as WINE in 1960.

-16 April 1958: WHK 19 Cleveland (AM, FM, TV) okayed for sale from Cleveland Plain Dealer for $700K

-12 May 1958: the Du Mont Broadcasting Corporation becomes the Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation.

-1959: John Werner Kluge buys Paramounts’ 22% of MBC for $4 million and WABD becomes WNEW. WTVH Peoria bought from Peoria Journal- Star subsidiary Hilltop Broadcasting for $605K. WIP AM/FM bought for stock and assumption of $2M in debt. 97% of KOVR Stockton bought off Gannett for $1,391K

-11 December 1959: W.R. Grace Co announces sale of Foster & Kleiser, acquired in 1952 (founded 1901), to Metromedia

-1960: Kluge and associates pay Paramount $4M for 21.75% of WTTG, WABD and WHK 

-30 September 1960: Prairie Television Company sells WTVP Decautur Il for $570K, and MBC also pays 41m for WRUL off World Wide Broadcast System

-March 1960 or 28 March 1961: MBC becomes Metromedia

-24 December 1960: MBC buys KMBC radio and tv for $10,250k from Cook Paint & Varnish Company

-1963: KTTV 11 LA bought from LA Times Mirror for $10,390,000. Studio center becomes known as Metromedia Square.

-1964: David L. Wolper organization (primarily documentaries) acquired for $414M

-1972: WTCN Minneapolis bought; KRIV also bought, for $11M, from Crest Communications

-September 1981: KMBC 9 Kansas City sold to Hearst for $79M

-1982: WCVB Boston bought for $220 million

-April 1983: WFLD 32 Chicago bought from Field Communications for $136M. That year: KRLD 32 bought for $14.9 million from National Business Network

-1984: Metromedia goes private, for $1.6 Billion. Kluge buys 75% of Metromedia not owned by him for $1.4b, including $100m of his cash

-April 1985: Metromedia stations buy announced

-1985: Hearst pays $450 million for WCVB

-1985: News Corp buys Metromedia Broadcasting Corporation (WNEW, WTTG, KTTV, WFLD, KDAF & KRIV) for $1.6B. 

Not sold: Metromedia Communications (cellular, paging, LD), Coles Publishing Company (cross reference directories), Foster & Kleiser, Metromedia Producers Corporation (syndication & programing), MetroTape (videotape production), Ice Capades, Ice Capade Chalets, ice skating facilities, Harlem Globetrotters, radio group and real estate of Metromedia Square (redubbed Fox Television Center)

-January 1986: Gerald Joyce (Patrick Media?) buys billboard division for $710M

-March 1986: Tom Scallen pays $30m for Ice Capades and Harlem Globetrotters

-November 1986: Morgan Stanley paid Metromedia $285M for Texas State Networks, WNEW am/fm, KMET fm, WIP/ WMMR Philadelphia, WASH am/fm, WOMC Detroit, KRLD Dallas and WWBA Tampa bay

-27 February 1987: WCBM sold to Magic 680 Inc

-April 1988: KHOW Denver sold for $302,000,000

-March 1989: Metromedia buys ITT long distance service

-2000: real estate below Fox Television Center (vacated 1997) sold to LAUSD

 MURDOCH SATELLITES

-May 1983: Satellite Business Systems (Aetna, IBM, Comsat) leases 5 transponders to Inter American Satellite Television Inc (redubbed Skyband) for $75M ($1M downpayment) via Allen & Co. 

Geared towards rural subscribers. SSO Columbia launched satellite that November. 

Effort abandoned. Skyband remnants: $600,000 computer billing system, Secaucus operations center and $12.7M satellite payment. 5 year, $20M lease remained on the five 20W transponders. Two movie, news, sports and entertainment channels.

-1978: Satellite TV bows to UK. US repeats and cheap Dutch fare, 2 hours daily on Orbital Test Satellite 2.

Europe wide by 1982, to flats and hotels on the continent. Videos, sitcoms and soaps. Launched to cable households by former Thames TV producer Brian Haynes

-1981: Satellite Television starts operations from Malta. £4M backing. Shows £100 an hour, satellite hour £300

-1982: Sky Channel Europe-wide, to apartment flats and hotels in 13 countries on continent. Videos, sitcoms, soaps

-1983: News International pays £10M for 65% of Satellite Television, adding 23% more later.  

-January 1984: Sky Channel debuts from Satellite. Name change to match recent US acquisition, Skyband (formerly Inter American Satellite Television Network). Moved to Astra satellite and soon became Sky One (FB89? with JL relaunch), with stable mates Sky Movies (soon scrambled), Sky News and Eurosport (EBU joint venture)

-June 1988: satellite service announced, on 4 transponders

-1988: Sky channels to 600,000 UK & Irish homes (‘84 and ‘87, respectively), including 53,000 on the systems of Cable Television Associates.

-19 February 1989: Satellite Television becomes Sky Channel

-April 1989: BSB bows on cable

-July 1989: becomes Sky One (there was a Sky Two briefly in 1996)

-April 1990: BSB on satellite 

-02 November 1990: BSkyB formed

-1993: Sky One merges with former rival Galaxy Channel

-October 2004: DirecTV buys News Corp’s stake in various LatAm sat services for $496M. Sky Mexico (owned by Grupo Televisa) buying sub list from shuttering concern.

423K Brazilian DirecTV subscribers to Sky Brasil (806K), while the DirecTV operations merge with Globopar and NewsCorp into a new company. DirecTV to pay $80M for interests of Globopar, Grupo Televisa, NewsCorp and Liberty Media (Sky Multi Country Partners) for the Sky subscribers in Colombia and Chile to get service from DirecTV.

 FOX TV

-March 1985: Murdoch announces purchase of 1/2 of 20th Century Fox for $250M. 

-1985: News Corp buys Metromedia Broadcasting Corporation (WNEW, WTTG, KTTV, WFLD, KDAF & KRIV) for $1.6B. 

-05 September 1985: Ten Network Holdings formed by Murdoch, consisting of Ten 10 Sydney, ATV 10 Melbourne, 3 FOX fm Melbourne and 4AM Queensland. Network 10 sold 87 to shopping center baron Frank Lowy for $880M.

-1986: $600 million for 20th Century Fox

-09 October 1986: Late Show Starring Joan Rivers bows on 95 stations.

-05 January 1987: WXNE Boston bought off CBN for $28M by Fox and sold -as WFXT- to Boston Celtics for $33M

-05 April 1987: Sunday shows start

-15 May 1987: Late Show cancelled

-11 July 1987: Saturdays start

-18 October 1989: Mondays debuted 

-Fall 1990: Thursday and Friday service added

-Fall 1990: joint venture between Fox and affiliates, the Fox Kids Channel debuts

-May 1991: FOXNET launched, providing Fox primetime, and a full 24 hour slate, to cable communities with no local broadcast affil

-February 1992: Diller leaves Fox

-January 1993: Tuesday and Wednesday nights added

-February 1993: Fox News Service launched, though only 32 affiliates use the material

-1993: FX cable network launched. Fox bargained for retransmission consent on behalf of affiliates, thereby getting MSO coverage

-1993: WATL 36 bought for $60- 80M from Renaissance Communications

-1993: Chevy Chase show launched, soon cancelled and replaced by reruns of In Living Color

-January 1994: 11-Midnight hour returned to affiliates

-March 1994: Fox and Savoy Pictures (f 92) from SF Broadcasting (TCF put up $58M of the 100M equity but had no control) to buy stations for the affiliate group

-October 1994: Fox buys WFXT from Boston Celtics

-August 1994: Fox buys WHBQ Memphis (42d market)

-August 1994: SF Broadcasting buys stations in New Orleans, Green Bay, Honolulu and Mobile AL

-September 1994: WTXF Philadelphia bought off Viacom by Fox

-October 1994: Fox puts $20M into Blackstar Communications, to enable that outfit to buy Fox affiliates

-July 1996: Fox buys new World stations for $2.5B

-1994: Fox gets NFC rights for $1.6 billion

-1994: New World stations switch affiliation to Fox

-November 1995: Fox pays $575M for 5 years of MLB 

-31 October 1994: Fox Movie Channel bows

-November 1995: Fox pays $575M for 5 years of MLB 

-October 1996: Fox News Channel bows to 17M people

-05 May 1997: last Married... With Children (costs had risen to $1.5M an episode)

-1997: Fox pays $1.9M for the Family Channel

-February 1999: Fox Kids drops weekday morning hour, keeping 2 hour afternoon block and 4 hour Saturday morning block

-1999: KSTU 20 Salt Lake City acquired for $41- 52.3M

-15 October 2007: Fox Business Channel debuts

Newsreels:

-1919 - 1927: Fox News (silent)

-1928 - 1934: Fox Movie Tone News

-1935 -1963:  shortened to Movie Tone News. 

USC owns 1919 - 1934 outtakes and complete issues, September 1942 - August 1944, Fox the rest.

-13 July 1948 - 30 September 1963: United Press and Fox form UP Movietone, filmed news distributor to tv stations

-1951: UP Movie Tone goes international as UPI Movietone

-1963: last American theatrical newsreel

-1986: final edition of British Movietone News

 TV NEWS

-1944 - 1956: Du Mont television station's local news

-1956 - 1986: Metromedia television station's local news

-1986 - current: Fox Television Station's local news

-07 October 1996 - current: Fox News cable channel