Belo Corp. is preparing to spin off its newspaper sector at the end of this week, but Standard & Poor's Rating Services lowered the media company's ratings Monday on concerns the newly separate television business will take on all existing debt.

Citing the Dallas-based company's unsecured debt and corporate credit, S&P said Belo's outlook is stable, downgrading it from “BB+” to “BB,” Editor & Publisher reported Monday.

On Friday, Belo plans to spin off its newspaper division to a new publicly traded company, called A.H. Belo Corporation, a move the media company's board approved in January. A.H. Belo will publish four dailies, including The Dallas Morning News, while Belo Corp. will keep its 20 television stations.

S&P said that not only will the television and electronic media business be weighed down by taking on all present debt, spinning the newspaper division off into a new company gives it less asset flexibility, E&P reported.

Last week, Moody's Rating Services stated it believed strong profit margins and good cash flow for Belo's television business mean it can absorb the increased debt, according to E&P.