An option agreement codified in August 2016 that allows Sinclair Inc. to purchase a television station in the Hoosier State from Gray Media has been struck, putting the wheels in motion on a transaction nearly nine years in the making — and signed off by Ralph Oakley.
At the same time, Sinclair is selling to Gray an Illinois property — for the exact price as the Indiana deal.
The asset sale agreement sees Gray Media agree to sell its WSJV-TV in Elkhart, Ind., to Sinclair Inc.
The purchase price? It is $50,000. But, there’s more to the deal than this singular filing. That’s because Sinclair is agreeing to give Gray its WHOI-TV in Peoria, Ill., by executing a second option agreement it has held since August 2016.
At Channel 19, WHOI is a station that lost its ABC affiliation in 2016 — when Quincy Media, Inc., led by Oakley, grabbed it and placed it on a digital subchannel of its WEEK-TV.
Now, WHOI appears to be gearing up for a return to ABC affiliation under Gray, which would give it a duopoly in the market with WHOI and WEEK becoming siblings. The purchase price for WHOI is also $50,000 — making these concurrent transactions a facilities swap.
With WHOI ready to turn back the clock, a similar scenario is unfolding in Elkhart-South Bend. As of today, WSJV airs the “Heroes & Icons” digital multicast channel, paired with NBC affiliate WNDU-TV in nearby South Bend. WSJV was acquired in Gray Media’s merger acquisition with QMI, which had owned WSJV since 1974. Now, WSJV is poised to become a sibling of Sinclair-owned WSBT-22, which presently airs CBS programming on its DT1 signal and FOX programming on its DT2 multicast channel. And, all signs point to the return of FOX network affiliation to WSJV. On August 1, 2016, WSBT-22.2 became “FOX Michiana,” after QMI lost the rights to the network it had on WSJV since 1995.
Serving as Gray’s outside counsel in this media asset swap and sale is Maureen Nagle of Cooley LLP.
