Wometco Enterprises

Wometco Enterprises

Company type	Corporation
Industry	Media, Entertainment, Theater Chain, Broadcasting
Predecessor	Wolfson-Meyer Theater Company
Founded	1925
Founder	Mitchell Wolfson, Sidney Meyer
Fate	Divested many holdings in 1980s; Miami Seaquarium sold in 2014
Headquarters	Coral Gables , United States
Area served	United States, Caribbean, Puerto Rico
Key people	Mitchell Wolfson (co-founder), Sidney Meyer (co-founder), Mitchell Wolfson Jr., Frances Wolfson Cary, Arthur Hertz (COO)
Products	Movie theaters, Television stations, Subscription TV service, Miami Seaquarium, Franchises (Baskin-Robbins/Dunkin' Donuts)
Owner	Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (since 1983)

Wometco Enterprises (commonly referred to as Wometco) is a U.S.-based corporation located in Coral Gables, Florida, near Miami. Initially established as a prominent media conglomerate with varied business interests, the company gradually divested many of its holdings throughout the early 1980s and maintained ownership of the Miami Seaquarium until its sale in 2014.

History

Established in 1925 under the name Wolfson-Meyer Theater Company by brothers-in-law Mitchell Wolfson and Sidney Meyer, Wometco started as a Miami-centered chain of movie theaters. Its inaugural location was the Capitol Theater in downtown Miami, which opened its doors in 1926. By the 1950s, it had grown to become South Florida’s leading theater chain and adopted the name Wometco.

In 1949, Wometco ventured into broadcasting by launching WTVJ, Florida’s first television station, operating out of the refurbished Capitol Theatre studios. The company also played a founding role in WFGA-TV (now WTLV) in Jacksonville, Florida, initially holding a 20% interest and remaining the majority shareholder until selling to Harte-Hanks Communications in 1975.

In 1957, Wometco secured a controlling stake in WMTV (Madison, Wisconsin) but divested it within a year to Lee Enterprises. The following year, it took majority control of Asheville’s WLOS-AM/FM-TV stations and expanded further by acquiring KVOS-TV in Bellingham, Washington, in 1961. Additional acquisitions included WTVG (now WFUT-TV) in Newark, New Jersey (1976), and WZZM-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan (1978). In 1977, Wometco introduced Wometco Home Theater, a nationwide subscription television service broadcast over-the-air with WTVG as its flagship station.

Expanding beyond media operations, Wometco inaugurated the Miami Seaquarium in 1955 and purchased the Blue Circle hamburger chain based in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1966; this chain was later sold in 1974. At one point, the company also operated Puerto Rico’s largest movie theater chain.

Transition, sales and breakup

Co-founder Mitchell Wolfson passed away from a heart attack on January 28, 1983, leaving behind two children: Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. and Frances Wolfson Cary. His final years as chairman and principal shareholder were marked by health challenges and speculation regarding the company’s financial status. Despite publicly asserting a "secret plan" to preserve Wometco intact, his will did not outline any succession strategy or designate a successor chairman. This lack of clear direction prompted both his family and the board to sell Wometco to merchant banking firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) on September 21, 1983, through a $1 billion leveraged buyout—then the largest corporate deal ever completed in Florida.

After privatizing Wometco, KKR divided the company into two segments: one managing six television stations along with Wometco Home Theater; the other encompassing 45 movie theaters, the Miami Seaquarium, Citrus Tower, vending machine operations, bottling and soft drink businesses, plus 47 cable systems. Management quickly moved to dispose of underperforming theaters and non-broadcast entertainment assets. Most were acquired by COO Arthur Hertz in April 1985; meanwhile, bottling operations—among the country’s largest Coca-Cola bottlers—were sold separately.

The company gradually liquidated its broadcast holdings: WLOS-FM was sold to WISE radio for $1.75 million in February 1984; WZZM was transferred to Price Communications in April 1985. During this period, KKR also purchased Storer Communications for $1.75 billion amid pressure from activist investors. This acquisition resulted in conflicts with FCC cross-ownership rules involving cable systems and TV stations located in Miami, New York City, and Atlanta. Stations WWHT/WSNL adopted a music video format before being sold to Home Shopping Network as part of a three-station $46 million transaction.

In May 1986, Lorimar-Telepictures initially agreed to buy WTVJ for $405 million within a $1.85 billion package including Storer stations; however, after that deal collapsed, General Electric—the parent company of NBC—acquired WTVJ for $270 million in January 1987. This purchase led to an intricate six-station network affiliation realignment affecting Miami and West Palm Beach on January 1, 1989. Concurrently, Wometco’s cable systems were divested.

By 1994, Cobb Theatres had acquired Wometco’s movie theater division; Cobb eventually merged into Regal Entertainment Group.

Currently, Wometco maintains franchises for Baskin-Robbins/Dunkin' Donuts across Miami as well as throughout the Caribbean and Puerto Rico. The Miami Seaquarium was sold to Palace Entertainment of California in March 2014.

Former Stations

• Stations appear in alphabetical order by state and their respective city of license.
• Stations that were established and launched by Wometco or its affiliates are indicated by two bold asterisks (**) following the callsign.

Media market	State	Station	Acquisition Year	Divestiture Year	Remarks
Jacksonville	Florida	WTLV **	1957	1975
Miami–Fort Lauderdale		WTVJ **	1949	1987
Grand Rapids	Michigan	WZZM-TV	1978	1985
New York City	New York	WWHT	1976	1986
		WSNL-TV	1980	1986
Asheville	North Carolina	WLOS	1958	1969
		WLOS-FM	1958	1984
		WLOS-TV	1958	1987
Bellingham–Seattle–Tacoma	Washington	KVOS-TV	1961	1984
Madison	Wisconsin	WMTV	1957	1958