Allen Media Group, the television production and broadcast company operated by philanthropist and comedian Byron Allen, has added seven more local television stations to its portfolio.
The stations were acquired by Allen Media as part of a divestiture by Gray Television following the latter company’s $925 million merger with Quincy Media.
The seven low- to mid-market television stations were acquired by Allen Media Group for $380 million in cash last week, the companies announced in a joint press release.
“I truly appreciate Gray and Quincy, two of the best broadcast groups in the business, working with us to acquire and transfer these amazing assets,” Allen, the co-founder, chairman and president of the media company that bears his name, said in a statement.
Allen reiterated a commitment made last year to spend billions of dollars acquiring local television broadcasters as he continues to build his media empire. Including the newly-acquired former Gray stations, to date, Allen Media operates 30 broadcast stations.
The stations that were at the center of the sale were in markets where Gray already owns a broadcast outlet. The sale was intended to satisfy federal regulations regarding station ownership in a television market.
The seven stations sold to Allen Media are:
- KVOA (Channel 13, NBC) in Tucson, Arizona
- KWWL (Channel 7, NBC) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- WAOW (Channel 9, ABC) in Wausau, Wisconsin
- WKOW (Channel 27, ABC) in Madison, Wisconsin
- WREX (Channel 13, NBC) in Rockford, Illinois
- WSIL (Channel 3, ABC) in Paducah, Illinois
- WXOW (Channel 19, ABC) in La Crosse, Wisconsin
The sale also includes a handful of low-power and full-time satellite translators, among them KPOB (Channel 15, ABC) in Poplar Bluff, Missouri; WQOW (Channel 18, ABC) in Eau Claire, Wisconsin; and WMOW (Channel 4, ABC) in Crandon, Wisconsin.
Gray says the stations will be fully and automatically transferred to Allen Media when its deal with Quincy Media closes.
In addition to the local broadcast stations, Allen Media operates The Weather Channel and Local Now. It also owns the digital broadcast network The Grio and its affiliated national news website.
