Hearst-Argyle Shows Its Stripes

The new media gusher is starting to trickle down to midsize outfits focusing on the television station and newspaper businesses.

Big multimedia powerhouses like Disney (DIS Quote) have set the pace on marrying new media forms like the iPod to TV shows and movies. Big-city rivals like CBS (CBS Quote) and News Corp. (NWS Quote) are pushing to keep up. And behind them, outfits like Belo (BLC Quote), Gannett(GCI Quote) and Hearst-Argyle(HTV Quote) see a chance to broaden their appeal.

As popular network TV content is made available on those new platforms, TV station groups that have extensive affiliate agreements with the networks could be well-placed to cash in, observers say. ...