Argyle Television President and Chief Operating Officer Blake Byrne to Retire When Argyle and Hearst Broadcasting Merge.SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 1997--Blake Byrne, 62, president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. of Argyle Television Inc. (Nasdaq/NM:ARGL), has announced that he will be retiring when Argyle Television and Hearst Broadcasting are merged, which is expected to occur about Sept. 1, 1997. ``This was not an easy decision,'' Byrne said, ``but I have concluded that this is the right time to enjoy the fruits of the labor of the past five years. ``It seems impossible to realize that it was just five years ago when we started Argyle Television Holding; then there was `Argyle II,' and now Hearst-Argyle Television Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc., is a broadcasting company in the United States. Hearst-Argyle is majority-owned by the New York City-based Hearst Corporation, and holds joint ventures in television production with NBC Universal Television Distribution, has an Internet partnership , which will become one of the major players in the television industry. ``I intend to remain a significant shareholder of Hearst-Argyle, because I am confident that Bob Marbut, John Conomikes and David Barrett David Barrett may refer to:
``I will sorely miss working with my friends and colleagues at Argyle. I want to thank them for all their wonderful support, and I wish them all the successes of which I know they are capable,'' he concluded. Argyle Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Marbut said: ``This is a difficult decision for me to accept, but I respect Blake's wishes to follow his dream. ``Blake and I have been business partners and close friends since 1991. He is one of the most accomplished television broadcasters of our time, having developed a special talent for simultaneously meeting the needs of viewers, advertisers, shareholders and employees. ``A person of unique style and high integrity, Blake has always been committed to upholding the standards implicit in Adj. 1. implicit in - in the nature of something though not readily apparent; "shortcomings inherent in our approach"; "an underlying meaning" underlying, inherent our unique, free over-the-air broadcasting system. His contributions to our industry have been significant. I will greatly miss his counsel and the experience of working with him and learning from him on a daily basis,'' Marbut said. Byrne, son of one of the early technical pioneers in radio and father of a son who is a television-station representative, started in the television-station business after stints with a television- representative firm and with CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. . His broad, hands-on experience -- which spanned over 36 years -- included sales, sales-management, station-management, group-management and corporate-management assignments. His station experience includes working with all four of the major networks in markets ranging from the top 10 to the 118th in size. Also, he was president of KCAL kcal kilocalorie. kcal abbr. kilocalorie kcal kilocalorie. , one of the nation's largest independent television stations in the largest television advertising market, where he was the first to launch daily prime- time newscasts. He became head of the television broadcasting group for LIN, a job he held for seven years, after having run its Dallas-Fort Worth station. Byrne has served as chairman of the Television Bureau of Broadcasting, as vice chairman of the NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. Affiliates' Board and on numerous industry-related special projects. Byrne joined Marbut in January 1992 to create what later became Argyle Television Holding, a six-station group that was subsequently sold to New World. In 1994, while still operating ``Argyle I,'' Byrne, Marbut, Ibra Morales and Harry Hawks created Argyle Television Inc. (``Argyle II''), which went public in October 1995 and is now traded on Nasdaq. Argyle Television, which now owns six network-affiliated stations, has recently announced a pending merger with Hearst Broadcasting. The combined companies will be called Hearst-Argyle Television when the transaction is closed (about Sept. 1). Byrne is a graduate of Duke University and has a master of business administration degree from Columbia University Columbia University, mainly in New York City; founded 1754 as King's College by grant of King George II; first college in New York City, fifth oldest in the United States; one of the eight Ivy League institutions. . Today, Argyle Television owns and operates network-affiliated television stations WLWT-TV, the NBC affiliate in Cincinnati; KOCO-TV, the ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. affiliate in Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (1990 pop. 444,719), state capital, and seat of Oklahoma co., central Okla., on the North Canadian River; inc. 1890. The state's largest city, it is an important livestock market, a wholesale, distribution, industrial, and financial center, and a farm ; WNAC-TV, the Fox affiliate in Providence, R.I.; KITV-TV, the ABC affiliate in Honolulu; WAPT-TV, the ABC affiliate in Jackson, Miss.; and KHBS-TV, the ABC affiliate in Fort Smith, Ark., and its satellite KHOG-TV, the ABC affiliate in Fayetteville, Ark. Argyle's Series A common stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol ARGL. CONTACT: Argyle Television Inc., San Antonio San Antonio (săn ăntō`nēō, əntōn`), city (1990 pop. 935,933), seat of Bexar co., S central Tex., at the source of the San Antonio River; inc. 1837. Bob Marbut, 210/828-1700 |
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