Allbritton Communications

"Allbritton" redirects here. For the surname, see Allbritton (surname).
Allbritton Communications Company
IndustryMedia
FoundedWashington, D.C. (1975; 49 years ago (1975))
FounderJoe L. Allbritton
DefunctAugust 1, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-08-01)
FateAcquired by Sinclair
SuccessorSinclair Broadcast Group
Headquarters
Arlington, Virginia
,
United States
Key people
Robert L. Allbritton (CEO)
ServicesBroadcasting, publishing

The Allbritton Communications Company was an American media company. Based in Arlington, Virginia, Allbritton was the leading subsidiary of Perpetual Corporation, a private holding company owned by the family of company founder and former Riggs Bank president Joe L. Allbritton.[1] Joe’s son, Robert L. Allbritton, was the Chairman and CEO of Allbritton Communications from 2001 to 2014.[2] He is currently the owner of Capitol News Company, the parent company of political newspaper and website Politico.[3]

Allbritton was the last remaining TV station group to have all of its stations be affiliated with ABC (other than its O&Os) and the last remaining TV station group to have all its stations have an exclusive affiliation deal with one network, rather than having affiliates aligned with any of the all four major broadcast networks.

Allbritton was previously a major owner of broadcast television stations; it owned a chain of eight television stations affiliated with ABC, anchored by its Washington, DC flagship WJLA-TV, and NewsChannel 8, a regional cable television network serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In May 2013, the company put all of its stations for sale, citing a desire to focus exclusively on Politico; they were ultimately sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group for $985 million.[4] The sale was approved by the FCC on July 24, 2014, following a year-long delay to address improper duopolies in certain markets that would result from the purchase.[5]

  1. ^ O'Brien, Timothy L. (2004-05-09). "Corporate Art Lovers Who Hate That Big Tax Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Company Overview of Allbritton Communications Company". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  3. ^ FCC approves $1B Allbritton TV sale to Sinclair, Politico, 24 July 2014, Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Sinclair Buying Allbritton Stations For $985M". TVNewsCheck. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference bandc-allbrittonapproved was invoked but never defined (see the help page).