Citadel Communications
| Private | |
| Industry |
Broadcast Television Television Production |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Headquarters | Bronxville, New York |
Area served |
 United States (Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast) |
Key people |
Philip J. Lombardo, Founder/CEO Ray Cole, President/COO |
| Products | Broadcast television |
| Website | www.citadelltd.com |
Citadel Communications Ltd. is an American private broadcasting company. It is based in Bronxville, New York, and operates 2 full-power television stations, 1 low-power station and a regional 24-hour cable news channel. The company was founded in 1982 by former National Association of Broadcasters joint board chairman and current Broadcasters Foundation of America chairman Phil Lombardo.[1]
Upon completion of the Digital TV transition in 2009, Citadel's stations at that time returned their digital broadcasts to their former analog channel assignments in the VHF spectrum. As a result of poor propagation characteristics for digital TV in the VHF bands, these stations now operate low-power digital fill-in translators in the UHF band to improve coverage in their communities of license. See the digital TV section on the WHBF-TV entry for further information on the Citadel stations' post-transition digital signals.
In February 2009, Phil Lombardo became an investing partner in LDB Media, LLC., owners of the Suncoast News Network, a regional cable news channel in Sarasota, Florida.[2] In January 2014, Lombardo and Citadel purchased a majority interest in the company.[3] As a result, Citadel took over broadcast operations of SNN and integrated the channel with its other stations.
On September 16, 2013, Citadel announced that it would sell WOI-DT, KCAU-TV, and WHBF-TV to the Nexstar Broadcasting Group for $88 million. Nexstar immediately took over the stations' operations through a time brokerage agreement.[4] The deal followed Phil Lombardo's decision to "slow down," as well as a desire by Lynch Entertainment to divest its investments in WOI and WHBF. Citadel continues to own KLKN, WLNE-TV, and its Sarasota properties.[5] On March 5, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission approved the sale of these stations to Nexstar outright and the deal was completed on March 13. KCAU continues to use Citadel's standardized news sets, graphics and logos. In July 2015, Citadel rolled out an updated graphics package on its remaining stations.
Stations
Current Citadel properties include:
| City of license/Market | Station | Channel TV (RF) |
Translator | Acquired | Affiliation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln, Nebraska | KLKN | 8 / 8 | 31 | 1986 | ABC (Grit on DT2 Escape on DT3 (Laff on DT4) |
|
| New Bedford, Massachusetts/Providence, Rhode Island | WLNE-TV | 6 / 49 | 2011[6] | ABC (Grit on DT2 Escape on DT3) |
||
| Sarasota, Florida | WSNN-LD/ Suncoast News Network | 39 / 39 and Various Cable Channels | 2011 and 2014[7] | SNN (Grit on DT2 Laff on DT3) |
Low-power; Sarasota is part of the Tampa/St. Petersburg television market. Also 24 hour regional cable news channel. Citadel purchased a majority interest in station owner LDB Media, LLC in 2014. CEO Phil Lombardo has been its primary investor since 2009[2] | |
Former Citadel-owned stations
| City of license/Market | Station | Channel TV (RF) |
Years Owned | Current Ownership Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Island, Illinois/Quad Cities | WHBF-TV | 4 (4) | 1987-2014 | CBS affiliate owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group |
| Ames/Des Moines, Iowa | WOI-DT | 5 (5) | 1994-2014 | ABC affiliate owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group |
| Sioux City, Iowa | KCAU-TV | 9 (9) | 1985-2014 | ABC affiliate owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group |
| Albion, Nebraska | KLKE (satellite of KLKN) |
24 | 1996-2003 | defunct, went silent in 2003 |
| Binghamton, New York | WMGC-TV | 34 (34) | 1986-1996 | ABC affiliate, WIVT, owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group |
| Buffalo, New York | WUTV | 29 (14) | 1984-1990 | Fox affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Burlington, Vermont/Plattsburgh, New York | WVNY | 22 (13) | 1982-1996 | ABC affiliate owned by Mission Broadcasting (Operated under a LMA by Nexstar Broadcasting Group) |
References
- ↑ "NABEF Board of Directors: Philip J. Lombardo". National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- 1 2 Hielscher, John (25 February 2009). "SNN set to return to the air Thursday". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- ↑ "Lombardo acquires majority stake in SNN". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- ↑ Malone, Michael (September 16, 2013). "Nexstar to Acquire Citadel's Iowa Stations for $88 Million". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
- ↑ Hicks, Lynn (September 16, 2013). "Nexstar buys WOI, other Citadel TV stations in Iowa". Des Moines Register. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Citadel Communications LLC, New Owner of WLNE-TV/ABC6". abc6.com. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ↑ "MMTC spinning another donated low power television". RBR.com. Retrieved 5 May 2011.