IS THERE STILL GOLD IN SMALL-MARKET TEXAS TV?

Times are tough in local TV. Revenue isn’t growing. NBCU is selling off stations in Miami and Hartford, and CBS just slashed local newsroom staffing. Who would want to invest in a business like that?

Bayou City Broadcasting and its President-CEO DuJuan McCoy, that's who. They’ve just agreed to buy out the West Texas broadcast properties of Sage Broadcasting. In fact, pending FCC approval of the sale, Bayou City is already overseeing the stations under a local marketing agreement.

The group includes a Fox-MNT duopoly in Abilene (DMA 164), KXVA-KIDZ-LP; the Fox affiliate in San Angelo (DMA 197), KIDY, and a handful of secondary stations.

“Obviously, you have to know what you’re looking for,” says McCoy, whose top criteria included well-run, well-maintained stations, preferably Fox affiliates or strong independents, plus one key attribute:

“I wanted stations that were underperforming in sales. That’s where I know my skills and experience can make the biggest difference,” says the 19-year veteran of local sales, most recently as VP and general sales manager of KRIV and KTXH, the Fox-owned duopoly in Houston.

McCoy has already begun to hire more sales staff and to update and streamline sales support systems—all while emphasizing that Sage President Bill Carter has given him plenty to work with. “These stations are in excellent shape and performing well.”

The name Bayou City is a reference to Houston and a salute to River City Broadcasting, whose founder, Barry Baker was an early mentor of McCoy’s.

Clearly, McCoy believes in the value of mentoring and continuing education. In fact, it was the advice of veteran station executive Dick Reingold (now managing the Four Points Media TV station group) that persuaded McCoy to leave behind the security of a regular paycheck to chart his own course.

“I figure I’ve made millions of dollars for my employers over the years,” says McCoy. “It was time to see what I can do for myself.”

Reingold urged McCoy to look into the Broadcast Leadership Training Program for Aspiring Broadcast Owners and CEO’s—offered annually by the NAB Education Foundation for “senior level broadcast managers of proven ability who aspire to advance as group executives or station owners.”

 McCoy likens the curriculum to a dress rehearsal for purchasing stations. “They taught me specialized accounting skills to calculate a station’s true value, how to perform due diligence, what questions to ask of the current owners—things you would otherwise have to learn the hard way, by trial and error.”

Mind you, McCoy hasn’t even completed the nine-month course. He’s still an active member of the Class of 2008. Kind of makes you wonder what he’ll accomplish once he graduates.

McCoy counts among his mentors the founder of the Broadcast Leadership Training program, Shooting Star Broadcasting President-CEO Diane Sutter, who for the past eight years has spent one weekend each month, September through June, as the program’s chief instructor. “Diane is just terrific,” says McCoy. “She not only has a tremendous amount of knowledge, but she is a really talented teacher.”

“If anyone can build revenue at those stations, it’s DuJuan McCoy,” says Sutter. She ought to know. Shooting Star’s first station purchase was Abilene CBS affiliate, KTAB, which it sold in 1999.

A stated goal of the Broadcast Leadership Training program is “to encourage diversity in broadcasting” and here McCoy scores on two counts. When the Sage deal closes, McCoy and his private equity partners believe they will be the only African-American owners of Fox affiliates. And the McCoy family will itself add diversity to the West Texas markets, where black viewers account for less than 7 percent of the audience. 

Does McCoy believe his status as a minority station owner carries with it any special opportunities or obligations? Again, yes on both counts.

“I’m aware of the opportunities I’ve had and grateful for early supporters like Bernie Souers and Phil Paligraf who gave me a chance to prove myself right out of college. And that makes me very determined to succeed,” says McCoy.

“I also make it a point to follow their example and to reach out to young people in the business to help them improve their sales and marketing skills. Someday I would love to make time to teach a class like the Broadcast Leadership Program.”

Which is exactly the way that’s supposed to work.

Arthur Greenwald writes about TV stations and local broadcasters each Monday in his Market Share column in TVNEWSDAY. He is particularly interested in sales promotions. If you have winning one that you would like to share, contact Arthur at greenwald@tvnewsday.com.