Galloway, Young Plan Albany ABC-Fox Duop

Shield Media LLC announced Friday that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Newport Television LLC to purchase Fox affiliate WXXA Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y. (DMA 58), for $19.5 million.

Shield Media said it anticipates entering into shared services and joint sales agreements with Young Broadcasting’s ABC affiliate WTEN.

Shield Media is owned by Sheldon Galloway. Galloway has a long history in broadcasting, serving in executive and management positions. He currently is the VP of White Knight Broadcasting Inc., which owns full-power and low-power TV stations in Texas and Louisiana. This is the first broadcast acquisition for Shield Media, but the company said it is actively pursuing other opportunities.

On July 19, Newport announced the sale of 22 of its 27 full-power stations for about $1 billion to Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Cox Media Group. Providence Equity Partners, the private equity firm that owns Newport, announced last March it was looking to unload the station group.

Galloway said in a statement: “I look forward to working with the talented people in Albany to develop an operational strategy that continues the outstanding tradition of community service and broadcast excellence at WXXA-TV.”

The transaction, which is subject to approval by the FCC, is expected to close before the end of the year.