Gray Television executives are likely displaying a sunny disposition across its Brookhaven headquarters office in northeast Atlanta.
The owner of 100+ broadcast TV stations has agreed to acquire a full-power TV station in a market covering a big portion of North Dakota and Minnesota. This deal, if approved, would give Gray control of the MyNetwork TV affiliate, in addition to the DMA’s NBC and CBS affiliates.
Representing the seller as the broker in this transaction is Kalil & Co.
In the city of Grand Forks, N. Dakota, is KCPM-27, a MyNetwork TV station serving the city and nearby Fargo, N. Dakota-Moorhead, Minn.; Grand Forks is within the Fargo DMA.
The seller is the Chuck Poppen-controlled Central Plains Media; the licensee for KCPM is G.I.G. of North Dakota, and that’s the entity shown on an Asset Purchase Agreement filed with the FCC Monday (2/12) detailing the sale of KCPM to Gray.
The purchase price: $255,000. A $45,000 advance payment has been made to Poppen by Gray.
With Commission approval, Gray would officially enjoy a duopoly in the Fargo market.
Unofficially, it would gain a stronger foothold in a market where it already has a considerable presence. Gray entered the market in November 2013 with the acquisition of NBC affiliate KVLY-11 as part of a transaction that saw it acquire all of the former Hoak Media stations.
Gray’s other presence in the Fargo DMA is via KXJB-LD 30, the CBS affiliate serving the market that uses KVLY’s DT-2 signal for full-market coverage.
Furthermore, MeTV has been on KVLY-DT 3 in Fargo. Therefore, the KCPM deal fits with Gray’s current operational structure in the market.
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