NY Times Co. to sell its nine TV stations

Steve Safran September 12th, 2006

The New York Times Company is selling its nine local television stations “to focus on its print newspapers and digital properties,” according to a report on the Times website. The article quotes NYT President Janet L. Robinson as saying the company is making the move “to sharpen our focus on developing our newspaper and rapidly growing digital businesses, and the synergies between them.” (You know to raise an eyebrow whenever you hear about “focusing on core businesses” and “synergies.”) NYT Co. has nine stations: two in Oklahoma City and one each in Des Moines, Ft. Smith, Ark., Huntsville, Ala., Memphis, Moline, Ill., Norfolk, Va., and Scranton, Pa. Also today, Time Inc. said it’s selling 18 of its magazine properties, including Popular Science, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Parenting and Babytalk.