The E. W. Scripps Company and Gray Media have finalized a transaction that involved swapping a number of stations in markets where the broadcasters already owned at least one other station.
The swap effectively creates new market duopolies in Lansing, Lafayette, Grand Junction, Colorado Springs and Twin Falls. The deal was first announced last summer.
Gray Media has acquired the following stations from Scripps:
- WSYM (Channel 47, Fox) in Lansing, Michigan
- KATC (Channel 3, ABC) in Lafayette, Louisiana
And Scripps has received the following stations from Gray Media:
- KKTV (Channel 11, CBS) in Colorado Springs
- KKCO (Channel 11.3, Telemundo) in Colorado Springs
- KJCT-LP (Channel 8, ABC) in Grand Junction, Colorado
- KMVT (Channel 11, CBS) in Twin Falls, Idaho
- KSVT-LD (Channel 14, Fox) in Twin Falls, Idaho
The deal received the approval of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) earlier this year. It was not expected to face strong pushback from federal regulators, since swapping stations in markets where each broadcaster already owned an outlet doesn’t exceed federal ownership limitations…