American media executive, co-founder of The Weather Channel (1927–2009)
Frank Batten
Born
Frank Batten
(1927-02-11)February 11, 1927
Norfolk, Virginia [1]
Died
September 10, 2009(2009-09-10) (aged 82)
Norfolk, Virginia [2]
Alma mater
University of Virginia (undergraduate)
Harvard (MBA)
Occupation(s)
Chairman and CEO, Landmark Communications
Spouse
Jane Batten
Children
Frank Batten, Jr.
Dorothy Batten
Mary Elizabeth Batten
Parent(s)
Frank Batten Dorothy Martin Batten
Frank Batten (February 11, 1927 – September 10, 2009[3]) was a co-founder of the first nationwide, 24-hour cable weather channel, The Weather Channel.[4][5] His media company, Landmark Media Enterprises, once owned nine daily newspapers, more than 50 weekly newspapers, television stations in Las Vegas and Nashville, and a national chain of classified advertising publications.
Batten assumed leadership in 1954 of two newspapers, The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star in Norfolk, Virginia, parlaying those papers into a media conglomerate by acquiring other newspapers, radio stations, and television stations and establishing a cable outlet as well as the national cable weather channel. Until 2008, the company, Landmark Communications, now Landmark Media Enterprises, was one of the country’s largest privately held media companies.[6]
Batten sold TeleCable (a multi-system cable TV company) in 1995 to TCI for $1 billion[4] and the Weather Channel in 2008 to NBC Universal and two private equity firms for nearly $3.5 billion.
Batten served as chairman of the Associated Press from 1982 to 1987.
^Hevesi, Dennis (11 September 2009). "Frank Batten Sr., Media Executive and Founder of Weather Channel, Dies at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
^"Frank Batten". Legacy.com. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
^"Frank Batten Sr., retired Landmark chairman, dies at 82". Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^ abMiller, Stephan (September 11, 2009). "He Put the Weather Channel On the Radar of Millions". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 14, 2009.
^Hevesi, Dennis (September 10, 2009). "Frank Batten Sr., Media Executive and Founder of Weather Channel, Dies at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
^Swift, Earl (September 10, 2009). "Frank Batten Sr., founder of Roanoke Times parent company, dies at 82". The Roanoke Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012.
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