YOUNGSTOWN WYTV has new owner

The new owner bought the studio, offices and tower for $1 million.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- WYTV has new corporate ownership but operations and personnel remain the same, an official said.
Chelsey Broadcasting Co. recently completed the purchase of eight television stations from Chicago-based Benedek Broadcasting Corp. The deal was announced in June but needed regulatory approval.
Bob Romine, general manager of the Youngstown station, said operations are continuing as they had been. The ABC affiliate employs the equivalent of 75 full-time employees.
Chelsey is allowing each station to operate independently and has created an operating company called WYTV Chelsey Broadcasting of Youngstown.
Bought WYTV
That company bought WYTV's real estate, including studio, offices and tower at 3800 Shady Run Road, for $1 million, says records on file at the Mahoning County Auditor's Office.
The total purchase price for the deal wasn't released.
Chelsey is an affiliate of Chelsey Capital in New York. This is its first venture in the broadcasting industry.
Besides Youngstown, it acquired stations in Wichita Falls, Texas; Duluth, Minn.; Columbia, Mo.; Cheyenne, Wyo.; Casper, Wyo.; Quincy, Ill.; and Peoria, Ill.
Chelsey Capital had been an investor in Benedek's parent company, Stations Holding Co., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March and later announced plans to sell its stations. Gray Communications Systems of Atlanta is buying 13 of Benedek's stations.
The corporate transition didn't stop WYTV from being the first Youngstown station to go on air with high-definition television. WYTV recently received regulatory approval for its new station, Channel 36, which became available Tuesday.
About half of ABC's prime-time lineup is available in HDTV on Channel 36, but that percentage is expected to increase. Romine said the station spent nearly $2 million to get Channel 36 up and running, but more investment will be required later for locally produced programs to be shown in HDTV.
Both channels 33 and 36 are available, although the HDTV channel is not yet available through cable systems.
shilling@vindy.com