# Multimedia, Inc.

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**Multimedia, Inc.** was a [media](/source/Mass_media) company that owned 12 daily [newspapers](/source/Newspaper), 49 weekly newspapers, two [radio](/source/Radio) stations, five [television](/source/Television) stations, and a [cable television](/source/Cable_television) system division. The company was headquartered in [Greenville, South Carolina](/source/Greenville,_South_Carolina).

## History

Multimedia's origins can be traced to December 1932, when the News-Piedmont Company of Greenville, which published the [*Greenville News* and *Greenville Piedmont*](/source/Greenville_News) newspapers, acquired radio station [WFBC](/source/WYRD_(AM)), only weeks after the station relocated to Greenville from [Knoxville, Tennessee](/source/Knoxville,_Tennessee). In November 1953 the News-Piedmont Co. acquired majority ownership of the [*Asheville Citizen* and *Asheville Times*](/source/Asheville_Citizen-Times) and its wholly owned radio station, [WWNC](/source/WWNC). WFBC-TV, the *News* and *Piedmont'*s television station, signed on from Greenville at the end of 1953.

The News-Piedmont Co. would expand its broadcast holdings with the acquisitions of [WBIR-AM](/source/WIFA_(AM))-[FM](/source/WIMZ-FM)-[TV](/source/WBIR-TV) in Knoxville in 1961, and of the Southeastern Broadcasting Company, which owned [WMAZ-AM](/source/WMAC)-[FM](/source/WDEN-FM)-[TV](/source/WMAZ-TV) in [Macon, Georgia](/source/Macon,_Georgia), in 1963. Then, in September 1967 the three commonly owned companies announced that, pending approval by the [Federal Communications Commission](/source/Federal_Communications_Commission) (FCC), they would merge by January 1, 1968, taking on the Multimedia, Inc. name.[1] At the time Multimedia consisted of the Asheville and Greenville newspapers, three television stations and seven radio stations.[2]

The company's most significant acquisitions came in 1976, when it purchased several properties from [Cincinnati](/source/Cincinnati,_Ohio)-based [Avco](/source/Avco), which was liquidating its media holdings. Multimedia first bought Avco's flagship television station, [WLWT](/source/WLWT) in Cincinnati, and later acquired Avco Program Sales, the [syndication](/source/Broadcast_syndication) division which produced and nationally distributed *[The Phil Donahue Show](/source/The_Phil_Donahue_Show)* and a regionally-distributed program produced at WLWT, *[The Bob Braun 50-50 Club](/source/Bob_Braun)*. This division would be renamed [Multimedia Program Sales](/source/Multimedia_Entertainment).[3]

The company was involved in one of the more unusual media transactions in history. In 1983, it sold its flagship television station, WFBC-TV in Greenville (now [WYFF](/source/WYFF)) and [WXII-TV](/source/WXII-TV) in [Winston-Salem, North Carolina](/source/Winston-Salem,_North_Carolina), to [Pulitzer, Inc.](/source/Pulitzer,_Inc.) In return, Multimedia received Pulitzer's former flagship television station, [KSDK](/source/KSDK) in [St. Louis](/source/St._Louis). Multimedia used its new purchase as the testing ground for a [new show](/source/Sally_(1983_TV_series)) hosted by [Sally Jessy Raphael](/source/Sally_Jessy_Raphael).

[General Electric](/source/General_Electric)'s [NBC](/source/NBC) unit considered buying the company in 1995, but a deal never materialized.[4] Instead, on July 24, 1995, the [Gannett Company](/source/Gannett) announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Multimedia for $1.7 billion, plus $539 million in long-term debt.[5][6][7][8][9] The merger was approved by the FCC in November 1995 and was completed a month later, on December 4.[10][11] In November 1996, Gannett sold Multimedia Entertainment to [MCA](/source/MCA_Inc.) subsidiary of [Seagram](/source/Seagram).[12][13][14] In July 1999, the cable television division, Multimedia Cablevision -- serving 522,000 customers across Kansas, Oklahoma and North Carolina -- was sold for $2.7 billion in cash to [Cox Communications](/source/Cox_Communications).[15] The North Carolina systems were resold to [Suddenlink Communications](/source/Suddenlink_Communications) in 2006.[citation needed]

The Multimedia name lives on as a holding company and licensee within what is now [Nexstar Media Group](/source/Nexstar_Media_Group)'s corporate structure (after its acquisition of [Tegna Inc.](/source/Tegna_Inc.) in 2026). Productions under Multimedia Entertainment continued on into [NBCUniversal Syndication Studios](/source/NBCUniversal_Syndication_Studios), and are now controlled and distributed by NBCUniversal.

## Former stations

- Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and [city of license](/source/City_of_license).
- Two boldface asterisks appearing following a station's call letters (******) indicate a station built and signed on by a predecessor company of Multimedia.

Stations owned by Multimedia Media market State Station Purchased Sold Notes Little Rock Arkansas KAAY 1975 1985 KLPQ-FM 1976 1985 Macon Georgia WMAZ 1963 1995 WMAZ-FM 1963 1995 [a] WMAZ-TV 1963 1995 Louisville Kentucky WAKY 1975 1985 WVEZ 1980 1985 Shreveport Louisiana KEEL 1975 1994 KMBQ-FM 1975 1994 [b] St. Louis Missouri KSDK 1983 1995 Asheville North Carolina WWNC 1953 1987 Winston-Salem WXII-TV 1972 1983 Cincinnati Ohio WLWT 1976 1995 Cleveland WKYC-TV 1990 1995 Greenville South Carolina WFBC ** 1932 1995 WFBC-FM ** 1947 1995 WFBC-TV ** 1954 1983 Spartanburg WORD 1989 1994 Knoxville Tennessee WBIR 1961 1980 WBIR-FM 1961 1980 WBIR-TV 1960 1995 Nashville WZTV 1979 1988 Milwaukee Wisconsin WEZW 1978 1994

1. Known as WAYS from 1984 onward.

1. Known as KITT from 1986 onward.

## References

1. ["Stockholders Favor Merger Of Papers, TV"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bHMsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vssEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6232%2C2648182). *[The Spartanburg Herald](/source/The_Spartanburg_Herald)*. [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press). September 16, 1967. p. 3. Retrieved October 27, 2024.

1. ["FCC Asked Permission For Merger"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z3MsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vssEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3901%2C963849). *[The Spartanburg Herald](/source/The_Spartanburg_Herald)*. [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press). September 7, 1967. p. 2. Retrieved October 27, 2024.

1. ["Fates and Fortunes: Programming"](https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1976/1976-05-10-BC.pdf). *Broadcasting*. May 10, 1976. Retrieved October 25, 2022.

1. Carter, Bill (June 13, 1995). ["THE MEDIA BUSINESS; NBC Group Is Set to Bid For the Assets of Multimedia"](https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/13/business/the-media-business-nbc-group-is-set-to-bid-for-the-assets-of-multimedia.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

1. Fabrikant, Geraldine (July 25, 1995). ["THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Expanding in TV, Gannett Agrees to Buy Multimedia"](https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/25/business/the-media-business-expanding-in-tv-gannett-agrees-to-buy-multimedia.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

1. Farhi, Paul (July 25, 1995). ["GANNETT CO. TO PURCHASE MEDIA FIRM"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/07/25/gannett-co-to-purchase-media-firm/d14d32df-c1e1-43e8-bfb4-0af47d09984d/). *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

1. Jones, Tim (July 25, 1995). ["GANNETT WIDENS SCOPE, ACQUIRING MULTIMEDIA"](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-07-25-9507250264-story.html). *[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)*. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

1. ["Gannett, Multimedia announce merger agreement"](https://www.tegna.com/gannett-multimedia-announce-merger-agreement). Gannett. December 4, 1995. Retrieved July 2, 2021. – via [Tegna Inc.](/source/Tegna_Inc.)

1. ["Gannett agrees to buy Multimedia Inc."](https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1995/07/25/gannett-agrees-to-buy-multimedia-inc/). *[Tampa Bay Times](/source/Tampa_Bay_Times)*. July 25, 1995. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

1. ["FCC Approves Buy Of Multimedia By Gannett"](https://variety.com/1995/tv/features/fcc-approves-buy-of-multimedia-by-gannett-99123668). *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))*. December 3, 1995. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

1. ["Multimedia deal closes"](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/12/04/Multimedia-deal-closes/3720818053200/). *[United Press International](/source/United_Press_International)*. December 4, 1995. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

1. Fabrikant, Geraldine (November 26, 1996). ["Unit of MCA is Acquiring Talk Shows"](https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/26/business/unit-of-mca-is-acquiring-talk-shows.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

1. ["MCA to Buy Syndicator of 'Sally', 'Jerry' Shows"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-26-fi-3181-story.html). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. November 26, 1996. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

1. McClellan, Steve (December 2, 1996). ["MCA buys Multimedia shows"](https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/96-OCR/BC-1996-12-02-OCR-Page-0041.pdf). *[Broadcasting & Cable](/source/Broadcasting_%26_Cable)*. Retrieved July 10, 2021.

1. ["Multimedia Cable TV acquired,"](https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/1999/07/26/daily8.html) July 26, 1999, *[The Business Journals](/source/The_Business_Journals),* retrieved April 6, 2026

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Multimedia, Inc.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia%2C_Inc.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia%2C_Inc.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.