Three companies, two full power television stations and five television networks figure in a deal in Grand Junction CO, in the extreme western portion of the state. Gray will be buying certain assets from owner News-Press & Gazette, and Excalibur will be acquiring a separate set of assets.
The station being acquired is KJCT-TV and associated low power outlets. The station carries programming from ABC, CW and Telemundo, as well as local Grand Junction fare.
Gray will be paying 75% of the total purchase price of the station, but cannot buy it outright, because the DMA is not large enough to legally support a television O&O duopoly. That’s because it owns KKCO-TV there, bringing NBC and MeTV programming to the citizens of Grand Junction.
That’s where Excalibur comes in. It is acquiring the licensed assets of the station through a subsidiary, paying $3M.
Gray will pay $9M for other assets, and will provide back room and engineering services for the station.
The total value of the deal, for those of you without calculators, will be $12M.
Gray is headed by Hilton Howell; newly-formed Excalibur is headed by Don Ray; and NPG is headed by John Kueneke.
