• by Wayne Friedman , November 11, 2010

Looking for another connection with local advertisers, big TV station group Belo Corp. has struck a deal with a Web-based group discount consumer site.

The site, yollar.com, provides consumer alerts to deals and discount from local businesses. Consumers can sign up for the discount service through Belo station Web sites. Belo stations share in the revenue from the sale of vouchers, as part of a partnership with advertisers. Yollar distributes the vouchers to customers, friends and targeted advertising networks when they buy products. These vouchers are good at local businesses.

Customers share the deals by sending them to friends -- helping to promote local businesses. Businesses only pay based on performance. Since customers, in effect, purchase vouchers, Yollar can pay businesses in advance.

Belo is launching the Yollar.com program by the end of the month in its Portland, Charlotte, Hampton/Norfolk and Boise markets. The program has already been launched in Dallas/Fort Worth, St. Louis, San Antonio and New Orleans. Yollar.com will be introduced in remaining Belo television markets by January 2011.

Belo Corp. owns 20 television stations -- nine in the top 25 markets -- with affiliations across ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox CW and MyNetwork TV. In total, Belo reaches more than 14% of U.S. television households in 15 highly attractive markets. Belo stations rank first or second in nearly all of their local markets.