There will be no “Big Bang” involving any affiliate switches in some 32 Nielsen DMAs across the U.S. for Gray Television.
A new multi-year renewal of the publicly traded broadcast company’s station affiliation agreements with CBS Television has been reached.
Terms of the agreements were not disclosed by either CBS or Gray, which released a joint statement Monday morning (10/2) on the new accord.
However, a late-afternoon SEC filing says the deal’s expiration date is Dec. 31, 2021.
The new station affiliation agreements replace those that would have expired at various times over the next couple of years, Gray said.
Gray owns and operates 39 CBS-affiliated television stations, ranging from Knoxville, Tenn., to North Platte, Neb., and collectively including approximately 5.9 million television households. It also includes recently acquired WCAX-3 in the Burlington, Vt.-Plattsburgh, N.Y. market — the default CBS affiliate for greater Montréal, and much of Quebec, Canada.
“We are pleased we have reached this renewal agreement with our valued partner Gray Television,” said Ray Hopkins, President of the Television Networks Distribution at CBS Corporation. “Through this comprehensive deal, both parties recognize the near and long-term benefits in extending our strong relationship, including the value the number one Network brings to viewers.”
“A majority of Gray-owned CBS stations are No. 1 in the markets they serve and have been proud affiliates of CBS for five or more decades,” said Gray CEO Hilton H. Howell Jr. “From broadcast to digital and beyond, we will continue to evolve with CBS and better serve our local viewers, with high-quality network and local programming into the foreseeable future.”
