Partnership Gone Sour

摘要

The one Pax TV show with any buzz these days is Cold Turkey. Chain smokers are tricked into agreeing to live in a house together and quit smoking. Edgy and confined, the smokers begin to turn on each other. This sounds a lot like Pax TV itself these days. CEO Bud Paxson, major backer NBC and public investors are all trapped in a house trying to cope with Paxson Communications' massive debt habit. When NBC bought a third of the station group in 1999, NBC Chairman Bob Wright and Bud Paxson were happy partners. Today, synergy is elusive, the two companies are locked in a court fight, and Paxson's stock is approaching zero largely because of low ratings and a weak ad market.