If there ever was a man true to his words, Byron Allen is perhaps the best example of one who turns bold statements into big deals.
He’s stated that his Allen Media Group intends to invest impressive amounts of cash on broadcast TV station purchases. The first deal struck: 10 spinoff sales tied to Gray Television‘s blockbuster $950 million merger with Quincy Media, Inc.
AMG’s deal for those spins has just closed, coinciding with the completion of the Gray/Quincy deal.
AMG’s stable of over-the-air stations is now 24, as it has completed its purchase of the following stations from Gray Television:
- NBC affiliate KVOA-4 in Tucson, which Quincy obtained from the now-defunct Cordillera Communications.
- ABC affiliate WKOW-27 in Madison, Wisc.
- ABC affiliate WSIL-3 in Harrisburg, Ill., which today serves the Marion-Carbondale, Ill., DMA but is described by Gray as a station serving nearby Paducah, Ky. It also serves Cape Girardeau, Mo. Also going in this deal is KPOB-15 in Poplar Bluff, Mo., which rebroadcasts WSIL as a full-time satellite.
- NBC affiliate KWWL-7 in Waterloo, Iowa, which offers The CW+ and MeTV Network on its DT2 and DT3 signals
- WXOW-19 in LaCrosse, Wisc., and semi-satellite sibling WQOW-18 in Eau Claire, Wisc. They are ABC affiliates.
- WAOW-9, also an ABC affiliate, in the Wausau-Stevens Point, Wisc., market, and (previously unannounced) The CW Network sibling WMOW-4.
- WREX-13, the NBC affiliate in Rockford, Ill.
AMG paid $380 million for the stations. Pending the $70 million acquisition of WJRT-12 in Flint, Mich., a spinoff tied to Gray’s acquisition of Meredith Local Media Group, AMG will have 25 stations in its collection of over-the-air TV properties.
It was believed that Gray’s acquisition of Quincy and Gray’s sale of the Quincy spins to Allen Media were to close simultaneously. As such, only a formal announcement from Gray likely awaits.
“I truly appreciate Gray and Quincy, two of the best broadcast groups in the business, working with us to acquire and transfer these amazing assets,” Allen said. “Over the past year-and-a-half, we have invested close to $1 billion to acquire best-in-class, top-tier, broadcast network affiliates.”
He’s far from done. “We plan to invest approximately $10 billion to acquire more ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX television stations over the next two years, with the goal of being the largest broadcast television group in America,” Allen declared, repeating earlier statements one could have easily dismissed as braggadocio.
Now, Allen has the building blocks necessary to go right after Sinclair Broadcast Group, TEGNA, The E.W. Scripps Co. and Hubbard.
A FINAL GOODBYE FOR QUINCY, OAKLEY
With today’s closing bell on Wall Street, the mega-deal of 2021 was officially done: Gray Television is now the owner of the QMI stations not spun to Allen Media Group. And, it formally marks the end of an era — and the leadership of Ralph Oakley.
