Gray Television

Gray said the renewal “is the direct result of impressive, double-digit ratings growth in the show’s debut season.” InvestigateTV+ is hosted by Lee Zurik (pictured) and Tisha Powell.

CBS has retained Gray Television’s in-house news research and consulting group, Strategic Insights & Activation Team, to provider it with market research and news consulting services for all 14 CBS owned and operated television stations.

The specials will be part of the Beat the Odds nationally syndicated sports betting and entertainment television series produced by Tupelo Media Group and KVVU. They begin this weekend for college basketball and will also air on dozens of Gray’s stations.

The Saturday games will air in at least 34 markets where Gray has stations beginning April 27.

It says it has completed new agreements more than 70% of its total subscriber footprint among cable, satellite and telco multichannel video programming distributors “without any disruption to consumers.”

Gray Television, which will air a package of five Cleveland Cavalier basketball games on two Ohio stations this season, said it made deals with Nexstar Media Group, Cox Media Group and Tegna to put the games on additional stations in Ohio.

Gray trades TV stations in the Cheyenne-Scottsbluff and Casper, Wyo., markets (DMAs 194 and 198, respectively) to Marquee. In exchange, Gray gets Marquee’s FCC permit authorizing the construction of the new, unbuilt KCBU in the Salt Lake City market (DMA 27).

Gray Television says that it is proposing to refinance certain of its existing senior credit facilities. Gray also announced updates to certain of its previously announced guidance for the fourth quarter of 2023, based on preliminary information available to date.

Forward-looking station groups including Gray Television, E.W. Scripps and Graham Media are forming internal policy groups to tackle the challenges that will come with adopting generative AI in their newsrooms.

Gray Television moves up The NBC, BC and CW stations’ former general sales manager.

All Friday night games during the remainder of the 2023-24 regular season will be available for free, over the air via Griffin stations in Oklahoma City and Tulsa as well as other regional stations.

The new contract covering stations in 56 markets replaces one that was set to expire at the end of the year.

Constant data allows stations to iterate on the fly on their streaming and FAST channels, executives from CBS News & Stations, Fox Television Stations and Gray Television told a NewsTECHForum audience last week.

Executives from Scripps News, Gray Television, NBCUniversal Local and ProPublica told a NewsTECHForum panel last week that their cross-group collaborations, as well as with organizations outside their own, have become critical to delivering on their news mission and their viability.

Tech leaders from CNBC, Fox Television Stations, Gray Television and Sinclair told a NewsTECHForum audience earlier this week that flexibility and speed are driving their implementation of a range of new technology, from LED displays and AR graphics to more expansive remote production and use of the cloud.

A handful of New Orleans Pelicans games could be coming to over-the-air television this season. There are still significant technical hurdles to overcome before a deal can come to fruition. Bally Sports’ financial issues also threaten to alter these plans. Any deal is unlikely to be finalized until mid- to late December. Until that happens, the Pelicans will not be able to decide which of their 10 games will be shown on Gray Television’s WVUE.

The Suns’ new local TV home, KTVK Arizona’s Family, is caught in drama between the owner of its new broadcast home and America’s fourth largest pay TV service provider.

Leaders from Scripps News, ProPublica, Gray Television and NBCUniversal Local will share how they’re organizing their newsrooms to foster collaborations of growing scope and ambition in a panel at TVNewsCheck’s 10^th annual NewsTECHForum on Dec. 12 at the New York Hilton. Register here.

Streaming executives from Gray Television, Bitcentral, CBS News & Stations, LTN and Fox Television Stations will share the critical insights they’ve gleaned from consumers of their streaming news channels and how they’re using that — and emerging technology — to guide their fast-evolving programming strategies in a panel at TVNewsCheck’s NewsTECHForum conference in New York on Dec. 12. Register here.

Gray Television and Universal Production Services launch full-service state-of-the-art television and film studios, creating thousands of jobs for Georgians.

News technology leaders from CNBC, Sinclair, Gray Television and Fox Television Stations will discuss the transformative changes to studio design and production along with dramatic leaps in field production technology in a panel at TVNewsCheck’s NewsTECHForum in New York on Dec. 12. Register here.

Key drivers include its Assembly Studios in Atlanta, digital revenue, sports rights and political advertising it estimates could hit $80 million.

The decrease to $803 million was pegged to lower political advertising compared to a year ago.

The new company, Free TV Networks, targets value-conscious consumers with a portfolio of national ad-supported over-the-air and FAST channels. Two new diginets will launch in 80% of the U.S. on New Year’s Day

Maybe the sky isn’t falling on broadcast. Gray Television on Tuesday became the latest large station owner to stand up and tell Wall Street that business is good because the outlook for distribution revenues — including retransmission-consent fees — are expected to grow at a healthy rate. Nexstar Media Group made a similar presentation last week and a few days later E.W. Scripps said it expects 15% growth in distribution revenue and a 40% jump in net distribution dollars.

The station group moves him up from senior director of Spanish media sales after guiding advertising sales growth for GrayTV Telemundo Station Group in 42 markets.

John Voita: “After absorbing our first game on AZ Family, you can see and feel what it’s like to have a local company focused on presenting local sports. From the moment the broadcast began, we were provided with beautiful cutaways of the desert and a score bug that is not overwhelming on the bottom of the screen. What we witnessed was masterfully nostalgic.”

Last year, flm and television productions spent $4 billion in Georgia. Now, a new
Doraville project could bring even more business to the state. Assembly Studios, a new film and television production campus owned by Gray Television, has already secured three “blockbusters,” the project’s developer told Georgia lawmakers last week. “Right off the bat, that’s a billion dollars of production value in 2024,” said Hilton Howell, Gray’s board chairman and CEO.

Peachtree Sports launched out of Gray Television’s WANF and WPCH Atlanta in early October with a programming slate of eclectic Georgia sports and a trajectory aimed at statewide distribution. Erik Schrader, the stations’ VP and GM, explains why he sees a viable market there. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

In this repeat of the Talking TV episode from June 23, Brian Morris, CISO for Gray Television, says that building successful defenses against ever more frequent and sophisticated cyberattacks on broadcasters depends on having a strong culture of cybersecurity from the C-suite down. A full transcript of the conversation is included. For more information about TVNewsCheck‘s Cybersecurity for Broadcasters Retreat on Oct. 26, click here.

The streaming news network is now available on more than 500 Gray Television station websites, connected TV apps and mobile apps.

Executives from Gray Television, Morgan Murphy Media, Graham Media Group, Ticker and Newsbridge will break down the key elements of AI’s rapidly widening role in broadcast TV and what the C-suite needs to know about the business implications in a panel at TVNewsCheck’s TV2025: Monetizing the Future conference at the NAB Show New York on Oct. 25. Register here.