New Moon Communications has agreed to acquire four low power stations from the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, and will make them NBC affiliates as of this fall. The stations are WDON Dothan, AL; KJNE Jonesboro, AR; WZMC Jackson, TN; and KUMK Ottumwa, Iowa; representing markets 169, 180, 182 and 199, respectively.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed; New Moon principal Darnell Washington called it "a minimal fee."
None of the markets currently have an NBC affiliate, according to BIA/Kelsey's Investing in Television book. All are former TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) affiliates.
The stations are the first acquisitions for New Moon. Plans for each station include "immediate transition to digital, NBC programming along with new syndicated offerings, local news broadcasts, and aggressive local marketing campaigns," said New Moon in a statement.
Washington, a sales veteran who worked at stations owned by Pulitzer and Sinclair, among others, said some, if not all, the stations will launch local news.
"News is in the plans," he said. "We'll see what happens."
