Gray and affiliated company Excalibur Broadcasting agreed to...
Gray and affiliated company Excalibur Broadcasting agreed to buy 15 network-affiliated TV stations in seven markets from Hoak Media and Parker Broadcasting for $335 million, Gray said in a press release Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1fiZiHx). In a separate transaction, Excalibur will also…
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buy two Fox affiliates from Prime Cities Broadcasting for $7.5 million, and Gray will provide “back office services and limited programming” to three of Excalibur’s stations through shared services agreements, said the release. Gray and Excalibur will also enter into option agreements through which Gray could buy Excalibur’s stations if FCC ownership rules changed. Because of those rules, the transaction will also require Gray to sell two of Hoak’s TV stations to third parties, and Excalibur to divest itself of one of Parker’s stations, the release said. The combined transactions will give Gray “the number-one ranked local television station operations in four of seven markets and the number-two ranked operations in two markets,” said the release. When the transaction is complete, Gray will own duopolies in 16 markets, the release said, and its stations will reach 7.33 percent of U.S. TV households. Gray will acquire three stations in South Dakota, five in North Dakota, three in Colorado, two in Nebraska, two in Louisiana and one in Florida. A North Dakota station and the Florida one will be divested for regulatory reasons. Excalibur is buying three stations in North Dakota, and one each in Nebraska, Louisiana and Colorado. Excalibur will sell the Colorado station to comply with ownership rules, the release said. The transactions are expected to close in the first or second quarter of 2014, the release said.