Gannett Co. Acquires California TV Station

dog ex-pedition to in a as Gene-'see Gannett Co. Acquires California TV Station STOCKTON, Calif., Nov. 18 Purchase of television station KOVR in the Sacramento Valley of California by Gannett Co., Inc., was announced yesterday by Paul Miller, president. It is a three million dollar transac tion, subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission, which has author ity over the licensing of all broadcasting stations. KOVR-TV, operating on Chan nel 13, is a VHF station licensed to Stockton and serving the three principal cities of the Sac ramento Valley Stockton, Sac ramento and Modesto. Its maxi mum power transmitter (326,000 watts) is situated atop Butte Mountain, near Jackson in Ama dor County, heart of the famous Gold Rush of 1849. KOVR serves nearly 450,000 TV homes in this rapidly crow ing agricultural and industrial area which has a population of 1,500,000. It is affiliated with the American Broadcasting Co. network. To Acquire Stock The Gannett Company, proposes to acquire the stock of Television Diablo, Inc., whose principal owner is H. Leslie Hoffman, president of Hoffman Electronics of Los Angeles and Chicago, which manufactures radio, television and high fidelity equipment and is active in the missile program. "We plan to retain substantially the same staff now operating the station and to, announce a program for im proved and expanded service to this great and growing area,1 Miller said. "We are particularly pleased that Terry H. Lee, the present general manager of KOVR, has agreed to remain with the com pany until July 1, 1958. Mr. Lee has been a tremendous factor in the development program of the present KOVR, and his help and guidance will be of major assistance to the Gannett Company." DeLaney Director C. Glover DeLaney of Roch- ner, general manager; DeLaney, and Justin Doyle of the Rochester law firm of Nixon, Har-grave, Devans &amp; Dey. The Gannett Company operates other television and radio properties. On Nov. 4, a million watt UHF station went on the air in Bingh'amton, N.Y. Other stations in the Gannett organi zation are: WHEC and WHEC-TV, Rochester, N.Y.; WENY, El-mira, N.Y.; WDAN and WDAN- TV (UHF), Danville, III.; and WINR, Binghamton, N.Y. ester, N.Y, managing director as- of Gannett Company's Broad- cast Division, also win aevoie considerable time in the imme- diate future to the further de- ex- velopment of KOVR. organ- Representing the Gannett af-Company in investigation and negotiations, extended over sev- thejeral weeks, have been Cyril Wil- liams, treasurer; Lynn N. Bit-! of this area." Runs 22 Newspapers The Gannett Co.. Inc.. founded by Frank Gannett,"" who is now president emeritus, operates 22 newspapers in New York State, Connecticut, New Jersey and Illinois. They are: Rochester Times- Union, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Hartford (Conn.) Times, Elmira Star-Gazette, El- mira Advertiser, Elmira Sunday Telegram, Utica Observer- Dispatch, Utica Daily Press, Ithaca Journal, Newburgh News, Beacon News, Albany Knicker bocker News, Ogdensburg Jour nal, Ogdensburg Advance-News, Plainfield (N.J.) Courier-News, Malone Evening Telegram, Dan ville (111.) Commercial-News, Saratoga Springs Saratogian, Binghamton Press, Niagara Falls Gazette, Massena Observer (semi -weekly), and Potsdam Courier and Freeman (weekly). Gannett News Service maintains bureaus in Washington and Albany. J. P. McKinney &amp; Son, national advertising repre sentatives, a subsidiary of the Gannett Company, has offices in New York, Chicago, San Fran cisco and Syracuse. Application to FCC Legal formalities were completed this week and it is expected that an application for formal approval by the FCC will be presented in a few days. Normally, FCC action on such a transfer requires two to three months. Hoffman, commenting on the agreement, said yesterday: "We have put a great deal of time, money and effort into the development of KOVR as an instrument of real service to the valley area. I am delighted that the purchaser is the Gannett Company, because I know it will carry on and expand policies to the continued best advantage of the people 1