 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| NYSE: LC | |
| Industry | Broadcast Television,Insurance |
| Founded | 1919 |
| Defunct | January 31, 2006 (2006-01-31) |
| Fate | Acquired byRaycom Media |
| Successor |
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| Headquarters | , |
Area served |  United States (Nationwide) |
Key people |
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| Products |
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TheLiberty Corporation was amediacorporation originally based inGreenville, South Carolina. At its peak, Liberty owned 15network-affiliatedtelevision stations across theMidwest andSouthern regions of theUnited States. Cable advertising sales group CableVantage Inc., video production facility Take Ten Productions and broadcast equipment distributor Broadcast Merchandising Corporation were also some of its assets.
Liberty was founded in 1919 when W. Frank Hipp, a former top agent atSpartanburg-based Southeastern Life Insurance Company, struck out on his own. Within a decade, Liberty had grown large enough to buy his former employer. It entered broadcasting in 1930, when it boughtWIS inColumbia—the start of what would become the Broadcasting Company of the South, renamed Cosmos Broadcasting in 1965. Under Francis Hipp, who succeeded his father in 1943, Liberty reorganized as a holding company, The Liberty Corporation, in 1967.[1]
Liberty sold its insurance subsidiaries, Liberty Life and Pierce National Life, toRoyal Bank of Canada in 2000. Cosmos was then folded directly into the Liberty banner.
After the sale of its insurance division, the company employed approximately 1,400 people. The executive officers includedchairman andCEO W. Hayne Hipp (who, with his family, owned about 25% of the company before its sale to Raycom Media), president andCOO James M. Keelor,CFO Howard L. Schrott.
On August 25, 2005, Liberty agreed to bebought out byRaycom Media. Raycom paid $987 million, or $47.35 per Liberty share, and assumed Liberty's debts of approximately $110 million in the buyout.[2] The acquisition was completed on January 31, 2006.[3] After closing the deal, Raycom sold a number of stations, including two from the Liberty portfolio. They included ABC affiliateWWAY-TV in Wilmington, North Carolina toMorris Multimedia andCBS affiliateKGBT-TV inHarlingen, Texas toBarrington Broadcasting.[4] Also included with the merger was aconstruction permit for a new station in theMyrtle Beach–Florence, South Carolina market that Liberty applied for in 1996[5] and was granted by the FCC in October 2005, shortly after the merger announcement;[6] Raycom would use the permit to build and sign-onWMBF-TV on August 7, 2008.[7]
Stations are arranged in order by state andcity of license.
| City of license /Market | Station | Channel | Years owned | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery–Selma, AL | WSFA-TV | 12 | 1959–2006 | NBC affiliate owned byGray Media |
| Jonesboro, AR | KAIT | 8 | 1986–2006 | ABC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| Albany, GA | WALB | 10 | 1998–2006 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| Evansville, IN | WFIE | 14 | 1981–2006[a] | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| Louisville, KY | WAVE | 3 | 1981–2006[a] | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| Lake Charles, LA | KPLC | 7 | 1986–2006 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| New Orleans, LA | WDSU | 6 | 1972–1989 | NBC affiliate owned byHearst Television |
| Marquette–Escanaba–Iron Mountain, MI | WJMN-TV[A] | 3 | 1981–1984[a] | ABC/CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Sullivan's Landing[b] |
| Biloxi–Gulfport–Pascagoula, MS | WLOX | 13 | 1995–2006 | ABC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| Jackson, MS | WLBT | 3 | 2000–2006 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| Wilmington, NC | WWAY | 3 | 1999–2006 | ABC affiliate owned byMorris Multimedia |
| Toledo, OH | WTOL | 11 | 1965–2006 | CBS affiliate owned byTegna Inc. |
| Columbia, SC | WIS ** | 10 | 1953–2006 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| Myrtle Beach–Florence, SC | WMBF-TV | 32 | [c] | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| Harlingen–Brownsville–McAllen, TX | KGBT-TV | 4 | 1998–2006 | Antenna TV affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group |
| Lubbock, TX | KCBD | 11 | 2000–2006 | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| Tyler–Longview, TX | KLTV | 7 | 2002–2006 | ABC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| Lufkin–Nacogdoches, TX | KTRE[B] | 9 | 2002–2006 | ABC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| Green Bay, WI | WFRV-TV | 5 | 1981–1984[a] | CBS affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group |