Atlanta-headquartered Gray Media is celebrating the first new combination of top-four rated television stations this decade, as the Carr Commission has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules and will allow the company to complete its purchase of the FOX affiliate serving the Rochester, Minn., market.
As RBR+TVBR first reported on January 10, Gray submitted paperwork with the FCC seeking its approval to purchase KXLT-TV in Rochester, Minn., branded as “FOX 47,” from the Louis Wall-led SagamoreHill Broadcasting for an exercise price of $490,500.
It was a deal made possible through Gray’s merger with Quincy Media, Inc., the Ralph Oakley-helmed broadcast TV group that had obtained the option when SagamoreHill ended up the licensee in 2005, following QMI’s purchase of Shockley Communications.
But, getting the transaction through regulatory hurdles meant obtaining a waiver allowing Gray to own both KXLT and NBC affiliate KTTC-TV.
That came on Tuesday (3/11), courtesy of Video Division Chief Barbara Kreisman.
Based on the totality of the circumstances, she declared, “We find that the grant of a waiver of the Local Television Ownership Rule to permit common ownership of KXLT-TV and KTTC is warranted on the grounds that KXLT-TV is a ‘failing station.’” Kreisman adds that the financial situation of KXLT-TV “hampers its ability to be a viable voice in the market” absent a “failing station” waiver.
Additionally, Kreisman found that Gray “is the only reasonable, available candidate willing and able to acquire and operate KXLT-TV, and that selling the station to an out-of-market buyer would result in an artificially depressed price.”
The conclusion from Kreisman was based on an analysis conducted by Tideline Partners LLC founder and Managing Partner Greg Guy, submitted to the FCC.
And, Gray says, the transaction’s approval by the Media Bureau represents the shortest processing time for a duopoly waiver in Commission history.
“Gray appreciates the FCC Media Bureau’s careful consideration of our waiver request and its recognition of the marketplace in which today’s local television stations compete for viewers and advertisers,” said Kevin Latek, Gray’s Chief Legal and Development Officer. “We look forward to leveraging the combined resources of KTTC-TV and KXLT-TV to improve service for viewers in the Rochester market.”
