MEDIA / KEVIN BRASS : Channel 39 Sale Story Doesn’t Add Up--Yet

Quoting unnamed sources, KGTV-TV (Channel 10) reported on Thursday morning that KCST-TV (Channel 39) had been sold to Group W Broadcasting. The report turned out to be, at the very least, premature. During the 5 p.m. broadcast the same day, Channel 10 “clarified” the story, noting that, in fact, nothing could be confirmed.

Channel 10’s report, though, added fuel to rumors that Group W, a division of Westinghouse Electric, was on the verge of purchasing the NBC affiliate from Gillett Communications. Gillett bought the station in December, and has been completely redoing its news operation. But George Gillett is looking to dump some of his broadcasting interests to generate cash, according to a recent article in Broadcasting magazine.

Industry sources confirm that Group W has held discussions with Gillett about KCST, but they add that no deal has been agreed upon, and no contracts have been drawn up. Officials from neither the New York-based Group W nor Gillett Communications would comment.

Channel 39 general manager Neil Derrough, who just returned from a long-trip to New York, would not discuss any aspect of the story.

“As far as I’m concerned we’ve started a lot of new things here and my direction hasn’t changed,” Derrough said.

There has also been speculation that Gillett may sell Channel 39 in order to buy Channel 10. But if Gillett is, in fact, trying to generate cash, it hardly makes sense to sell a UHF station to take on its more valuable VHF rival.

The sale of Channel 10 to Gillett is “absolutely not going to happen,” McGraw-Hill Broadcasting president Ed Reilly said on Friday. “We are absolutely not going to sell the station.”