Knight-Ridder Has Bidders for Its TV Stations : Expects 8 Properties to Pull Total of $400 Million

MIAMI — Knight-Ridder Inc. said Friday that it is negotiating with several companies on its previously disclosed plans to sell its eight television stations and expects to get an aggregate price of more than $400 million.

The Miami-based media firm announced its plan to sell all of the stations Oct. 6 but had not said how much it expected to get for them.

Separately, an official of a Providence, R.I.-based company said his company has agreed to buy two of the stations--WPRI-TV in Providence, R.I., and WTKR-TV in Norfolk, Va. Narragansett Capital Inc. has agreed to buy the stations for a sum close to industry estimates of $150 million, said co-owner Jonathan Nelson. He would not give the specific purchase price.

“We liked both markets,” he said. “We think they are attractive, growing, healthy markets. They ought to be leaders.”

Agreements also are said to have been reached for the sale of three other Knight-Ridder stations. The New York Times reported today that Young Broadcasting of New York will buy WKRN-TV in Nashville, Tenn., for more than $50 million; Burnham Broadcasting of Chicago will acquire WALA-TV in Mobile, Ala., for $40 million, and News-Press and Gazette Co. of St. Joseph, Mo., will acquire KOLD-TV in Tucson, Ariz., for an undisclosed price.

Other stations up for sale by Knight-Ridder are KTVY-TV in Oklahoma City; WTEN-TV in Albany, N.Y., and WJRT-TV in Flint, Mich.

The stations are all VHF network affiliates and collectively accounted for about 5% of Knight-Ridder’s revenue last year.

“We have been pleased by the proposals we have received for our stations,” said James K. Batten, president and chief executive. “Although a number of broadcast properties are reported to be on the market, it is evident there is demand for quality broadcast operations in good markets.”

The company said it expects to finish its negotiations soon and begin seeking the approval of the Federal Communications Commission for the transactions.