Effective March 2, 2009, Granite Broadcasting and Barrington Broadcasting will jointly operate TV stations in the Syracuse, NY, and Peoria, IL. The TV markets will be under joint sales and shared services agreements. In Syracuse, the Granite-owned station, WTVH-TV, will be operated from the studios of WSTM-TV, which is owned by Barrington. In Peoria, the Barrington-owned station, WHOI-TV, will be operated from the studios of WEEK-TV, which is owned by Granite.
Under the terms of the agreements, the operating station will provide advertising, sales, promotion, administrative services and selected programming to the other station. This arrangement between Granite and Barrington is intended to create better and more efficient operation.
One of the chief advantages of operating these stations under the agreements will be the ability to offer local and national news, as well as programming of community interest, in new and varied time periods, giving viewers greater opportunity to watch at their convenience. The stations will provide newscasts in time periods not currently programmed with local news and extend local news to other time periods, allowing viewers more access to local reports and information. Granite and Barrington also plan to improve the emergency weather forecasting and daily forecasting by bringing the latest and best technology to both stations.
Under the terms of the JSA and SSA, Granite and Barrington expect to realize a number of expense efficiencies through the combining of resources and the reduction of some staff positions.
