As RBR+TVBR was first to report in December 2025, Gray Media successfully reached a deal to purchase a full-power television station in the Volunteer State in a transaction that saw brokerage Kalil & Co. represent the seller, Bahakel Communications.
That deal, involving a Jackson, Tenn., property, has now closed.
As a result, ABC affiliate WBBJ-35 is being welcomed into the Gray family, as Bahakel will continue to own television stations in five additional markets, as well as its radio stations in Colorado Springs and Chattanooga, Tenn.
Kalil & Co. represented Bahakel in the transaction, and earned $25 million from the sale of the TV station serving Nielsen market No. 174. WBBJ is a primary ABC affiliate, while Channel 7.3 is home to CBS programming and has been so since the start of 2012.
The Jackson market is distinct, and is to the northeast of Memphis by roughly 90 miles. For Gray, it is poised to earn a station to complement its WMC-5 in Memphis and WSMV-4 in Nashville. Gray acquired WMC-TV in the Raycom deal; WSMV is a former Meredith Local Media property.
Competition in Jackson includes Coastal Television, owner of the NBC affiliate; and Nexstar-owned WJKT-16, the FOX affiliate.
