Gray said it had about 30 markets in mid-2013.
Broadcaster Gray TV said it has reached a deal to acquire the TV and radio assets of Schurz Communications in a deal valued at about $442.5 million. The deal will include GRAY spinning off ABC affiliate KAKE-TV/WICHITA and NBC affiliate WSBT-TV/SOUTH BEND and merging NBC/CW affiliate WAGT-TV/AUGUSTA, GA into new sister CBS affiliate WRDW-TV and placing WAGT’s license in the spectrum auction.
WDBJ7, in Roanoke, Virginia, is now the 3rd Gray-owned television station, along with the Newsplex’s triage of stations, and WHSV in Harrisonsburg. We welcome more dedicated reporters, account executives, and technologists to our growing family. Schurz also operates ABC affiliate KSPR, which is owned by Perkin Media, under a shared services agreement.
In the Anchorage, Alaska, market (DMA 148), Schurz owns KTUU-TV, the market’s NBC affiliate. With five new top-rated stations, Gray will have 39 No. 1-ranked stations. Gray will be looking for a buyer for Schurz’s WSBT, the CBS affiliate in South Bend, Ind. (DMA No. 96).
KTUU general manager Andrew MacLeod told employees it was an opportunity for the station to be a part of a bigger media company at a time when scale is a critical path to the future, according to an announcement on KTUU’s website.
Gray moved into the South Bend market in 2006 with the acquisition of WNDU from the University of Notre Dame for about $85 million. After the closing, WSBT-TV will be owned and operated completely independently from Gray and WNDU-TV.
Radio Stations: Schurz owns the top-ranked group of radio stations in South Bend, Indiana; Lafayette, Indiana; and Rapid City, South Dakota. (DMA No. 171) with its Fox affiliate KEVN. “In a rapidly consolidating industry where size and scale matter more than ever before, we have come to the realization that Gray Television would be the best steward to ensure our stations succeed over the long-term”, explained Todd Schurz, president-CEO of Schurz.
Gray expects that the Schurz deal will be immediately accretive to its free cash flow.