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Intermountain West Communications Company history
Intermountain West Communications Company company history timeline
In 1979 he spent $89 million to purchase Rust Craft Greeting Cards Incorporated for its six television stations, but within a few years he sold them for $100 million, saying that television was not the "turn-on" he had hoped for.
The business publications were in similarly strong positions as market leaders--with $12 million in 1983 revenue for Meetings & Conventions, an increase of 20.5 percent--and enjoyed particularly high margins.
U S West, Inc. was originally formed in 1983 as part of a consent decree between the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), which was at that time the world's largest corporation.
Many in the industry were surprised, then, by the October 1984 announcement that Ziff was placing 24 magazines up for sale, 12 in its consumer group and 12 in its business group.
By 1984, many of these magazines were the circulation and/or revenue leaders in their respective markets.
In 1984, profits amounted to $887 million.
It was forced to break up in 1984 into what were called "Baby Bells"--regional service companies.
After selling 24 of these titles at the peak of their popularity in two separate 1985 deals for more than $700 million, Ziff Communications successfully refocused itself on the burgeoning computer magazine niche, including such landmark titles as PC Magazine.
By late 1985, U S West had won pricing flexibility for some services from regulators in eight states.
Ziff had acquired Government Computer News in 1986 and invested heavily in it, but finally surrendered to IDG and its competitive title when it sold the magazine to Cahners Publishing.
U S West's profits for 1986 dropped slightly to $924 million, on revenue of $8.31 billion.
U S West's profits for 1986 dropped slightly to $924 million, on revenue of $8.31 billion. Thus, in late 1986 both companies were merged into a single new subsidiary, U S West Information Systems.
The moves taken by U S West soon paid off: telephone profits for 1987 fell 1 percent, although total profits rose to $1 billion.
By the end of 1987, 11 of the 14 states the company served had loosened regulation, allowing the company to freely price new services such as central phone switching, cellular phones, and private lines.
By mid-1988 U S West had invested $192 million in New Vector.
U S West, along with the other regionals, finally won court permission in 1988 to enter new information services like voice mail and database transmission as long as they did not create or manipulate data themselves.
Profits for 1988 topped off at $1.13 billion.
Profits for 1989 were $1.1 billion.
New product revenues almost doubled from 1989, jumping to $54 million.
Income for 1990 was $1.2 billion on sales of $9.96 billion.
By 1991, PC Magazine boasted a circulation of more than 800,000, more than $160 million in advertising revenue, and a ranking as the tenth-largest United States magazine.
First, to lessen reliance on the United States market, Ziff launched an ambitious line of European computer magazines early in 1991.
In 1991 it acquired Predicasts Inc., whose databases included PROMT--a competitor of IAC's Trade and Industry Index.
In 1991 Citadel obtained the first “local marketing agreement” (LMA) from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Colorado Springs.
The latter was launched with great fanfare early in 1992 and positioned as the one magazine for executives needing to make computer purchases.
In 1992 Citadel owned eight radio stations.
Late in 1993, as revenue for Ziff Communications approached $1 billion, William Ziff, Jr., announced that he was retiring as chairman of the company and would have only an advisory role in the future as chairman emeritus.
Sales for 1993 totaled $21 million.
During 1993 Citadel acquired one AM and six FM stations, giving it a total of 26 stations.
In 1993 telephone service was provided to over 800,000 access lines in Utah.
Finally, in December 1994 AT&T purchased the Interchange Online Network, at the time still undergoing final testing, for $50 million.
With the family owners wishing to pursue other interests, the company was sold in 1994 in four separate deals totaling more than $2 billion.
Disclaimer: Information on this site was converted from a hard cover book published by University of Utah Press in 1994.
The "new" U S West, Inc. was formed in 1995 after the split of its former parent company (also named U S West, Inc.) into two separate companies--one which retained the U S West, Inc. name, and the other which was called MediaOne Group Inc.
Citadel subsequently expanded its presence in Albuquerque in 1996 with the acquisition of another AM and three FM stations.
During 1997 the company had purchased a total of 61 radio stations for about $230 million.
In January 1998 eFortress began expanding to other cities.
However, the sale was blocked by the United States Department of Justice in 1998 because it would have given the buyer in excess of 40 percent of the total radio advertising revenue in that market.
Later in 1998 Citadel acquired nine radio stations in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana, from Citywide Communications Inc. for $34 million.
Yet the biggest news of 1998 was the actual split of U S West Inc. into two separate companies--U S West Media Group was renamed MediaOne Group Inc. ("UMG" on the NYSE), and U S West Communications Group became known simply as the "new" U S West, Inc.
By March 1999 eFortress had nearly 25,000 customers.
When all of the company’s pending acquisitions are completed as of mid-2000, Citadel will own more than 200 radio stations in mid-size markets throughout the United States.
Concerns about the company’s ability to turn a profit affected its stock price, which in mid-2000 was near its 52-week low.
"Citadel Communications Corporation ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Retrieved June 22, 2022 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/citadel-communications-corporation
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