Atlanta-based Gray Media has agreed to acquire television stations in ten markets from Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group for $171 million.The transaction would bring Gray into three new markets – Columbus-Tupelo, Mississippi; Terre Haute, Indiana; and West Lafayette, Indiana – with the acquisition of the local television station in each market that had the highest all-day ratings in 2024, according to Comscore.Gray expects the transaction to strengthen the company’s presence in the seven other markets by creating new duopolies “that would allow Gray to preserve and deepen public service to their communities with expanded local news, local weather, and local sports programming.”It anticipates closing the transaction in the fourth quarter pending regulatory approval, including certain waivers of FCC local ownership rules.Gray is a major owner of stations and digital assets serving 113 television markets that collectively reach approximately 37% US television households. The portfolio includes 78 markets with the top-rated television station and 99 markets with the first or second highest rated during 2024 as well as the largest Telemundo affiliate group with 44 markets.The stations it’s acquiring include:
- WAAY (ABC) in Huntsville, AL
- WSIL (ABC) in Paducah-Cape Girardeau-Harrisburg
- WEVV (CBS/FOX) in Evansville, IN
- WFFT (FOX) in Ft. Wayne, IN
- WCOV (FOX) in Montgomery, AL
- KADN (FOX/NBC) in Lafayette, LA
- WTVA (ABC/NBC) in Columbus-Tupelo, MS
- WREX (NBC) in Rockford, IL
- WTHI (CBS/FOX) in Terre Haute, IN
- WLFI (CBS) in West Lafayette, IN.
Moelis & Company acted as exclusive financial adviser to Allen Media Group in the transaction. AMG, which had grown to become one of the largest independent privately held owners of Big 4 (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) network affiliates. engaged the investment bank in June to to sell its television stations across 21 markets.AMG, which invested over $1 billion to build up its local station portfolio, said then that there had been numerous offers from interested buyers and it would use sale proceeds to pay down debt.Allen Media Group produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 74 television programs, making it one of the largest independent producers/distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations with a library of over 7,000 hours of owned content across multiple genres.It also owns digital streaming platforms HBCU GO, Sports.TV, The Grio, The Weather Channel streaming app and Local Now, the free-streaming AVOD service, along with ten 24 hour HD television networks serving nearly 300 million subscribers.
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