Why you can trust our reporting
We have produced extensive reporting on broadcast-related transactions involving local TV station owners like the E. W. Scripps Company, Gray Media, Sinclair, Nexstar Media Group and TEGNA. For this report, we relied on information supplied by both broadcasters and prior coverage of then-proposed transactions.
The E. W. Scripps Company and Gray Media have finalized a transaction that involved swapping a number of stations in markets where the broadcasters already owned at least one other station.
The swap effectively creates new market duopolies in Lansing, Lafayette, Grand Junction, Colorado Springs and Twin Falls. The deal was first announced last summer.
Gray Media has acquired the following stations from Scripps:
- WSYM (Channel 47, Fox) in Lansing, Michigan
- KATC (Channel 3, ABC) in Lafayette, Louisiana
And Scripps has received the following stations from Gray Media:
- KKTV (Channel 11, CBS) in Colorado Springs
- KKCO (Channel 11.3, Telemundo) in Colorado Springs
- KJCT-LP (Channel 8, ABC) in Grand Junction, Colorado
- KMVT (Channel 11, CBS) in Twin Falls, Idaho
- KSVT-LD (Channel 14, Fox) in Twin Falls, Idaho
The deal received the approval of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) earlier this year. It was not expected to face strong pushback from federal regulators, since swapping stations in markets where each broadcaster already owned an outlet doesn’t exceed federal ownership limitations.
The closure of the deal means Gray Media has completed all of its previously-announced transactions, which also saw the broadcaster acquire stations from Allen Media Group and Block Communications over the past few months.
For Scripps, it gives the broadcaster a stronger footprint in Colorado, where it also owns the ABC affiliate in Denver, KMGH (Channel 7).
“Greater depth in these markets creates the economic durability to sustain our public service commitment: high- quality local news, emergency alerts, weather coverage and local sports that keep people informed, engaged and connected to their communities,” Adam Symson, the CEO of Scripps, said in a statement on Friday. “We see scale and localism as complementary, and strategic transactions like this help ensure our stations remain strong, trusted voices for the communities that depend on us.”
Executives at Gray Media did not release a statement of their own. No cash exchanged hands as part of the deal.
