Updated at 6pm PT with clarifications/corrections
On February 12, 2018, it became known that Gray Television had agreed to acquire a full-power TV station in a market covering a big swath of North Dakota and Minnesota. The deal didn’t come without its controversy, however: If approved, Gray would gain control of the MyNetwork TV affiliate in addition to the DMA’s NBC and CBS affiliates.
Who would’ve thought that Memorial Day Weekend 2020 would bring not only a denial of the deal from the Media Bureau, but a death sentence to the station Gray wanted to buy from Chuck Poppen‘s G.I.G. of North Dakota, doing business as Central Plains Media?
To Our Readers: RBR+TVBR incorrectly reported in its first edition of this story that G.I.G. is a subsidiary of Gray Television. G.I.G. is the licensee of the station in the center of this matter, which intended to sell Gray the station. As such, G.I.G. was given an advance by Gray against the purchase price to cover debt it owned the FCC. Furthermore, a description of Gray Television’s 2013 deal with Hoak Media, based on archival reporting, was inaccurate. RBR+TVBR apologies for the errors.
