Gray Media and the E.W. Scripps Co., two of the largest U.S. owners of local TV stations, have engineered a swap of stations in five small and mid-sized markets.
The move will create new duopolies, coveted sources of extra revenue within a single market allowed under federal broadcast ownership rules, for each company.
Gray will acquire WSYM, a Fox affiliate in Lansing, MI; and KATC, an ABC station in Lafayette, LA. Taking over WSYM will give Gray a duopoly in Lansing, where the company already owns NBC affiliate WILX. The acquisition of KATC will complement Gray’s presence in the Southeast, which includes all other DMAs in Louisiana.
Scripps, meanwhile, gets Gray’s KKTV, a CBS affiliate in Colorado Springs, CO, where Scripps already owns NBC station KOAA. Also in Colorado, Scripps is acquiring NBC affiliate KKCO and low power ABC station KJCT in Grand Junction. The company is also getting CBS affiliate KMVT and low-power Fox station KSVT-LD (Fox) in Twin Falls, ID where Scripps owns low power station KSAW-LD (ABC).
The addition to the portfolio adds to Scripps’ position in the West, where it owns and operates television stations across Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California.
The companies expect to close the swaps by the fourth quarter.
Local TV remains a significant cash-flow generator for station owners, but ongoing declines in viewership and advertising are ramping up pressure on the operations. Groups are agitating for federal policymakers to revise station ownership rules, which cap ownership at a total reach of 39% of the U.S. A loosening of the rules, which the current Federal Communications Commission has discussed, could kick off a new round of consolidation for the sector.
“We are very pleased to be executing a successful set of station swaps with Scripps that brings great value to both companies,” said Gray President and Co-CEO Pat LaPlatney, in a statement. “At Gray, due to the strategic nature of these two acquisitions and the benefits to our operations, we anticipate expanding the news staff and hours of live local newscasts on both stations soon after closing the acquisitions.”
Scripps CEO Adam Symson, who presides over a company that owns not only local stations but the ION broadcast network and a number of multicast networks and digital assets, offered a similar sentiment.
“These new stations will allow Scripps to expand upon our local sports and news strategies in key growth geographies for us,” he said. “The resulting efficiencies will allow us to further invest in our connection to our communities, offering even richer coverage of these neighborhoods and regions.”