The July 7 announcement that Gray Media and The E.W. Scripps Co. have entered into agreements to swap television stations across five mid-sized and small markets, resulting in the creation of new duopolies for each group, has led the FCC to establish a pleading cycle for the purpose of seeking public comment on the proposed change in control.
It’s noteworthy, as waivers creating a pair of Top-Four combinations aren’t immediately being given even as a Federal Appeals Court struck down the long-standing FCC rule.
The transaction will see Gray Media obtain FOX affiliate WSYM-TV in Lansing, Mich., and KATC-TV in Lafayette, La., an ABC affiliate. WSYM will therefore become a sibling to NBC affiliate WILX-TV in Lansing, while the acquisition of KATC “will complement Gray’s strong presence in the Southeast,” adding the last remaining market in Louisiana where Gray did not have an ownership presence.
In exchange, Scripps will acquire Gray Media’s CBS affiliated KKTV-TV in Colorado Springs; NBC affiliate KKCO-TV and ABC affiliated low-power station KJCT-LP in Grand Junction, Colo; and CBS affiliate KMVT-TV plus low power FOX affiliate KSVT-LD in Twin Falls, Idaho. KKTV will become a sibling of NBC affiliate KOAA-TV; the Twin Falls stations would become cousins of low-power TV station KSAW-LD, an ABC affiliate.
The FCC on July 30 accepted for filing the applications seeking consent for the asset swap. But, the FCC’s Local Television Ownership Rule still stands, given the timeframe the court established for the “Top-Four Rule” to be remanded and erased by the Commission.
That window is 90 days, from July 23. But, one day later, Gray and Scripps requested that the Commission either approve the applications pursuant to the case-by-case review of the proposed Top Four combinations in accordance with past Commission practice; grant the applications upon issuance of the Eighth Circuit’s mandate eliminating the Top Four Prohibition and the modification of “Note 11,” which extended the Top Four rule to LPTV properties; or consent to the applications in light of the Eight Circuit’s Opinion “pursuant to the Commission’s precedents granting temporary waivers of its rules pending related judicial proceedings.”
Should the swap proceed? The FCC wants to know before it acts.
Interested persons must file petitions to deny no later than August 29, 2025. Oppositions to petitions to deny must be filed no later than September 15, 2025. Replies must be filed no later than September 25, 2025.
Persons and entities that file petitions to deny become parties to the proceeding.
“To allow the Commission to consider fully all substantive issues regarding the applications in as timely and efficient a manner as possible, petitioners should raise all issues in their initial filings,” the Commission said, adding that replies should only address matters raised in oppositions.
Submissions in this matter must be filed electronically — i.e., through the LMS.
