By Noelle Knox
AP Business Writer
Thursday, Oct. 14, 1999; 12:07 a.m. EDT

NEW YORK –– Chris-Craft Industries Inc. is exploring the sale of some or all of its 10 television stations, and is talking to major media companies including CBS Corp., News Corp. and General Electric Corp.'s NBC unit, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Chris-Craft, the New York-based company which made motor boats until 1981, now makes almost all of its money from its TV station group, which includes WWOR in New York and KCOP in Los Angeles. The company also has small interests in health-care products and plastics.

The company's shares have risen about 40 percent since August, when federal regulators cleared the way for broadcasting companies to own more than one TV station in the same city, under certain conditions. The decision triggered a wave of discussions among owners of television stations.

"It seems that CBS would be a very likely buyer," said Laura Linehan, a vice president at Gabelli Asset Management, which is one of Chris-Craft's largest shareholders. "But any network operator, obviously, would like to double up."

Viacom Inc., the entertainment company that is buying CBS Corp., has a joint-venture partnership with Chris-Craft in the United Paramount Network, or UPN.

Spokesmen for Chris-Craft, CBS, News Corp., NBC, and Walt Disney Co.'s ABC all declined to comment.

Scott Davis, an analyst at Schroder & Co., said Chris-Craft's chairman Herb Siegel "is speaking to anyone and everyone since (ownership) rules have changed."

The source familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity, said Chris-Craft's discussions are in the early stages and would likely take weeks to play out.

If Chris-Craft sells out, it would be the third TV-related deal since the rule change in August. Viacom's acquisition of CBS, announced last month, started as a discussion to swap TV assets. Also last month, NBC paid $415 million for a 32 percent stake in Paxson Communications Corp., a major station owner.

Industry experts expect the trend to continue over the next year.

"Clearly there are going to be deals, there are going to be station swaps, and undoubtedly further alliances," Davis said. "Which players pair up with which is awfully hard to predict."

In addition to UPN, Chris-Craft owns 80 percent of BHC Communications Inc. The company also has a small health-care products business, which makes items like hospital laundry bags, and a plastic flexible films business, which is in fiberglass.

The company's sales totaled $472 million last year, and it is sitting on $1.7 billion in cash.