Storer Communications

While this expansion led to Storer becoming the fourth-largest cable operator in the country, the systems built were expensive and unprofitable in the short-term, and the company suffered substantial losses in the mid-1980s.

Storer was dismantled in the following years under KKR: the cable division was spun off and gradually dissolved into both TCI and Comcast, while the television stations were sold to George N. Gillett Jr. in 1987 and folded into New World Communications in 1993.

[14] Acting on advice given to Storer by his physician,[8] Fort Industry sold the station in 1930 to theater owners John H. Kunsky and George W. Trendle,[15] who relaunched it as WXYZ.

[16] The Wall Street crash of 1929, coupled with price wars at the Speedene gas stations due to stiffened competition, resulted in radio becoming a standout for Fort Industry.

[22] Storer retained a minority stake in CKLW until selling it in 1936 under pressure from Canadian regulators; by then, Fort Industry had also become a nominal investor in Seattle station KIRO.

[28][29] Launched in October 1934, WMCA in New York City (which Storer himself operated for 18 months beginning in 1933[8]) was the initial flagship of a chain of twenty-four stations largely concentrated on the East Coast.

After Storer and WMCA failed to reach a long-term arrangement,[30] WNEW became the new flagship[31] and the network was reorganized as the American Broadcasting Company,[32][a] with Arde Bulova as an investor.

[39] Denied the request in 1937,[40] Fort Industry became a majority investor in WALR through West Virginia Broadcasting—the licensee for WWVA and WMMN—and renamed it WHIZ in 1939,[41] concurrent with the station joining NBC Radio.

[42] After the United States entered World War II in December 1941, Ryan took a leave of absence as Fort Industry's vice president/general manager to serve as the Office of Censorship radio censor under Byron Price; Storer's Standard Tube plant was also converted to manufacture shell casings.

[54] Fort Industry also sold off their minority stake in KIRO to Washington governor Monrad Wallgren in 1947[55] and bought majority control of the Miami Beach Sun and Star newspapers in 1948.

[62] WLOK and WLOK-FM were sold to Lloyd Pixley in 1951[63] so Fort Industry could purchase WSAI and WSAI-FM in Cincinnati,[64] which also included a construction permit for a UHF station.

[89] WWVA and WWVA-FM were sold off in 1962 as a condition of Storer's $10.9 million purchase of WMGM in New York City, then an industry record,[87][90] which reverted to the WHN call sign.

[103] The gamble on television in 1948—made when other broadcast chains disparaged the medium[4]—paid off with WAGA-TV, WSPD-TV and WJBK-TV turning a profit by 1951, surpassing all internal expectations.

[120] Storer took WGBS-TV dark in April 1957[121] and sold the tower, studios and land to channel 10 permit winner National Airlines, allowing WPST-TV to sign on ahead of schedule.

[123] After it was revealed that the FCC, in particular commissioner Richard A. Mack, had been directly influenced by National Airlines,[124] the commission reopened the bidding process for the channel 10 license.

[131] Storer held distribution rights to several animated series, including B'wanna Don in Jungle-la, The New Adventures of Pinocchio, and Tales of the Wizard of Oz.

[137] In the 1980s, Storer co-produced the game show Break the Bank and a second revival of Divorce Court under a joint venture with Blair Entertainment and Kline and Friends.

"[143] Storer announced plans to reactivate WGBS-TV, which it still held the permit for,[144] intending to have television stations in Northeast's terminals of Miami and Boston; this also precipitated their purchase of WIHS-TV, renamed WSBK-TV.

[155] Storer sought a merger of Northeast into Northwest Orient in 1969,[156][157] but this fell through after the CAB denied a request for the combined airline to retain a profitable Florida route.

Addressing criticism the company was acting as a stumbling block, Peter placed the Garden for sale in June 1974 to "... parties who feel that they can better serve the needs of Greater Boston".

"[166] Negotiations for a sale restarted in earnest in July 1975 after a disappointing 1974–75 Bruins season that also saw declining ratings for game coverage on WSBK; the team's existing television contract, effectively a paper transaction, was slated to run through 1978.

[178] Storer's commitment to radio remained unclear, but was aided by the sale of WJW to Lake Erie Broadcasting, an Art Modell-headed syndicate, in 1977 for $2.5 million;[180] the deal represented "a significant profit" as the station was starting to lose money.

[189] By December 1978, Storer announced their remaining radio stations were for sale, including WLYF in Miami and WLAK in Chicago, which were both purchased earlier in the year.

[199] The company's name became Storer Communications, Inc. on January 1, 1983, coinciding with the stock symbol changing to SCI;[200] headquarters were also moved from Bay Harbor Islands to North Miami.

[204] The board signed an agreement to accept KKR's offer as it provided more immediate cash on hand for the shareholders, doing so in advance of the company's annual executive meeting.

[207] While the company did not describe this move as a "poison pill", a term Miami News columnist Merwin Sigale used, it led to Comcast withdrawing their interest and ensured no one else could match or best KKR's bid.

[223] Tallent joined Comcast in 1991 and was succeeded by William Whelan;[224] the company was expected to be broken up in the coming years and described as "not in acquisition mode".

[225] TCI and Comcast jointly purchased Storer Cable from the partnership in September 1992 and was divided in half,[226][227][228] with franchises reassigned based on the closest proximity of either company's regional offices.

[227][229] George N. Gillett Jr. bought majority control of the Storer stations (renamed SCI Television[230]) in April 1987,[231][232] financed through junk bonds.

[233] This deal also included Storer's syndication unit and sales divisions, and their news bureau in Washington, D.C.[234] Such financing was raised prior to Black Monday, placing Gillett in a 10:1 debt-to-profit ratio.