By Kristen Poland
Staff Writer

Charleston’s WCSC-TV Channel 5 has been purchased by broadcast conglomerate Raycom Media Inc. of Alabama from Lincoln Financial Group as part of a $583 million cash deal that includes two other TV stations and a sports syndication business.

Lincoln said the deal also includes the company’s TV stations in Charlotte, N.C., and Richmond, Va., as well as its sports syndication arm that televises Southeastern Conference football. Lincoln Financial Media is a subsidiary of Lincoln National Corp., an insurance and financial services company based in Philadelphia.  

“Raycom has been a valuable partner in the sports syndication business, and given Raycom’s presence in the Southeastern U.S., it is a logical partner for our television assets,” said Dennis R. Glass, Lincoln Financial Group president and CEO, in a statement.

Established in 1996, Montgomery, Ala.-based Raycom Media owns or operates 42 television stations in 18 states, including Columbia, S.C., Savannah, Ga., and Wilmington, N.C. The company also owns Raycom Sports in Charlotte.

Lincoln Financial also announced the sale of its two Charlotte news-talk radio stations to Massachusetts-based Greater Media Inc. for $100 million in cash.

The sports syndication transaction is expected to close by early December. The sales of the television and radio stations are expected to close by the second quarter of 2008.

Lincoln will continue to operate and invest in its 16 remaining radio stations. The company acquired its media unit in a merger with North Carolina-based Jefferson-Pilot Corp. in 2006.

Phone calls to Channel 5 were referred to Lincoln Financial representatives, who were not immediately available for comment. Raycom Media did not return phone calls.