TV Pioneer & Media Broker Ken Hawkins Dead at 77

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, March 14, 2017

The National Association of Media Brokers (NAMB) marked the passing of its long time member and broadcast pioneer Ken Hawkins, who was a founding partner of Raycom Media Inc. and more recently a partner at the media brokerage firm Satterfield & Perry, Inc. Bryant Kent "Ken" Hawkins, 77, died at a rehabilitation facility near his home in Wetumpka, AL, on Thursday, March 9 after undergoing surgery a week earlier.

"Ken is quite a story," said Glenn Serafin, NAMB President. "At the dawn of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which liberalized TV ownership, he leveraged his contacts and great reputation as a television general manager in Selma, Alabama into becoming a founding partner of Raycom Media, which bought dozens of TV stations from Ellis Communications, Federal Enterprises and American Family Life Assurance Company (AFLAC), all in 1996."

Working with its investor, Retirement Systems of Alabama, Raycom's aggregate financing eventually totaled $1.35 billion, according to news reports. "Think about it," added Serafin. "That was 20 years ago!" Today, Raycom, with headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama, owns and/or operates 63 television stations in 42 markets, as well as sports marketing companies and other media related enterprises.

After retiring as Chairman from Raycom, Hawkins joined the media brokerage firm Satterfield & Perry Inc., one of the founding firms of the National Association of Media Brokers. His Satterfield partner John Willis said Hawkins was "very knowledgeable and very easy going." Another former station owner and current broker, Bill Cate of Media Services Group, was a regular golf partner and a good friend. "Ken was great fun," Cate said, "he was a knowledgeable broadcaster and will be missed. I hear it's just like FM up there in heaven, no static at all."