TV Stocks Sink To 1990s Levels.

By Robert Marich

Weak ad market, new-media competition fuel sell-off

With Wall Street tanking, stock valuations for companies that own TV stations have tumbled below depths not seen since the early 1990s.

Today there's a double whammy. First, advertising is weak, though to some degree that problem will eventually pass. But TV broadcasters are saddled with competition from cable, and growing competition from digital media such as Websites and portable video devices that are permanently changing the media landscape and spooking investors.

Trading below their mid-1990 levels are Gray Television, at less than $2.50 a share (giving the whole …