With ATSC 3.0 poised to make broadcast television’s revenue capabilities even deeper thanks to data, in addition to “addressable advertising” solutions, low-power TV stations in the UHF band have increasingly become a hot commodity for some of the nation’s biggest television broadcasting companies.
Gray Television is certainly one of them. The company has just agreed to purchase three LPTVs in Georgia from Jeff Winemiller‘s operation.
Why make such a deal? Improving the over-the-air consumption of Gray-owned full-power TV stations nearby is the answer.
In a deal posted by the FCC on Monday (9/28), Gray is agreeing to purchase a pair of low-power TV stations licensed to Vidalia, Ga.: WPHJ-LD 46 and WQIX-LD 25. The stations primarily serve the Jesup, Ga., area as highly local community-specific operations.
Comcast subscribers in Wayne County, Ga., can receive them.
At the same time, Gray is grabbing WCGZ-LD 21 in La Grange, Ga. — a property Winemiller’s Lowcountry 34 Media purchased in Sept. 2019 from DTV America Corp. — an entity that is majority controlled by HC2 Holdings.
The deals, when one looks at the geography of the LPTVs, are expressly intended to improve reception of Gray stations in two DMAs: Savannah, Ga., and Columbus, Ga.
The immediate issue is that WTOC-11, the CBS affiliate in Savannah owned by Gray that has long been a dominant news source in the market, has the rarity of having its digital channel match its PSIP. Meanwhile, WTVM-9, the Gray-owned ABC affiliate in Columbus, broadcasts on digital Channel 11.
In a digital world, UHF channels are better than VHF channels for signal radius. As such, WPHJ and WQIX will aid WTOC, while WCGZ will air WTVM in a world where cord-cutting has not been seen in rural areas where cable TV was established some 60 years ago to bring reception of over-the-air TV to local homes and businesses.
The deal is valued at $350,000, and Patrick Communications served as the exclusive broker in this transaction.
Winemiller’s legal counsel in this deal is Davina Sashkin of Fletcher Heald & Hildreth. The attorney representing Gray is John Feore of Cooley LLP.
