Gray Television

It’s 3Q core ad revenue was down 4%, but going forward, the group sees revenue growth with both the Super Bowl and Olympics on its NBC affiliates as well as strong political revenue next year. It’s also bullish on expanding its holdings. “Things have been relatively slow on the M&A front,” said CEO Hilton Howell Jr. “We expect things to pick up rapidly after the FCC comes to a final conclusion on their [ownership] rules.”

The rise to $219 million is driven by increases in local (8%) and national (22%) advertising as well as a 37% boost in retransmission consent money.

The agreements cover all 32 markets in which Gray owns and operates its 39 CBS-affiliated television stations comprising approximately 5.9 million TV households.

The broadcast group is praised for its support of a wide range of Ad Council campaigns including shelter pet adoption, recycling, hunger prevention, autism awareness and type 2 diabetes prevention.

At least a dozen employees at KYTV and KSPR in Springfield, Mo., including anchor Jerry Jacob, were laid off Friday morning in what management has called a consolidation of newsrooms.

The rise to $227 million is driven by increases in local and national advertising as well as retransmission consent money.

WMTV went live from a new 32,000-square-foot facility in Madison, Wis., with its entire operation in late October 2016. The new home of the Gray Television-owned NBC affiliate was designed “from the inside out” from a technical point of view, according to WMTV VP-GM Don Vesely, with an eye toward maximizing the efficiency of the various workflows that drive news and its other operations. Above, the 4,500-square-foot newsroom just outside the centralized rack room. (WMTV/Gray Television photo)

In a Facebook post, Val Thompson, news director of Gray’s triopoly in Charlottesville, Va., explained to viewers how the stations would cover a Ku Klux Klan demonstration in town over the weekend without giving a platform to “a group with a history of intimidation, violence and hate speech.”

Gray is acquiring the Retro TV affiliate WFXU and its low-power companion for $600,000, according to an FCC filing.

The United States will experience a coast-to-coast total solar eclipse Aug. 21 — the first in 99 years. For the reporters, anchors and news crews at local TV stations, coverage of the celestial event is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. With just under two months to go, many stations are deep into their coverage planning.

Creative Services Director Andrew Felix recounts how WEAU, Gray’s NBC affiliate serving La Crosse-Eau Claire, Wis., performed during and after a tornado, from live warnings about severe weather, non-stop coverage and then following up by organizing, spearheading and promoting a fundraiser for victims that raised more than $40,000 in one day and was matched to bring the total north of $80,000.

Gray Television exec Kevin Latek’s background is in communications law and he thinks the current FCC needs to update the commission’s ownership rules to reflect the reality of today’s TV ecosystem, not that of the 1950s or even the 1990s.

The group owner promotes Jay Barton, Kim Lee, Alan Chatman and Eric Krebs to the top spots in Burlington, Vt.; Bangor, Maine; Gainesville, Fla.; and Charlottesville, Va.

2016 Spot Revenue: $708.2 million Stations: 131 in 56 markets Coverage: 10.3% Ownership: Gray Television Inc. (NYSE: GTN) Key Executives: Hilton Howell Jr., president-CEO; Kevin Latek, EVP-chief legal and development officer; James […]

The station group is paying $29 million to Mt. Mansfield Television for the station and expects the deal to close in the third quarter.

Revenue grows 17%, thanks to station acquisitions. But on a same-station basis, revenue growth is flat with a 25% gain in retrans fees offset by decline in advertising. Local ad revenue was down 1%; national advertising fell 7%.

The 2017 NAB Show exhibition opens Monday, April 24, and there will be much to see for broadcast engineers and technologists who find themselves grappling with the repack of the TV spectrum and a nearly completed new broadcast standard. Five top techs — one each from Gray Television, NBCU O&Os, Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tegna Media — talk technology and what they will be looking for at this year’s NAB Show. For a recap of TVNewsCheck’s multi-part roundup of NAB Tech Hot Topics, click here.

It makes top leadership changes at its stations in Davenport, Iowa; Lincoln, Neb.; North Platte, Neb.; Marquette, Mich.; and Parkersburg, W.Va.

Revenue tops $237 million, driven by increased local and national sales, political and retrans. Retrans grew 32% to $$52 million. For the full year, revenue increased $215.1 million, or 36%, to $812.5 million.

It adds CBS affiliate WABI Bangor, Maine, and ABC affil WCJB Gainesville, Fla., to its station portfolio. Gray says: “We expect that the stations will produce two-year, blended broadcast cash flow margins greater than 50%.”

It says the sales “will not lead to job losses and otherwise are not expected to produce any material change in operations or results for Gray or for any individual market in which we operate.”

Mike Oates and Sacha Purciful will oversee duopolies of WRDW-WAGT and WHSV-WSVF, respectively. 

Nancy Johnson, Chris Fry and Deedee Caciari are promoted to lead the group’s five stations in Anchorage and Fairbanks.

Gray says it will pay “one-time discretionary cash incentive compensation awards” totaling more than $4 million to three top execs. President-CEO Hilton Howell Jr. will get $2,488,900; EVP-CFO James Ryan will get $716,130; and EVP and Chief Legal and Development Officer Kevin Latek will get $870,014.

It also announces it will refinance and extend its revolving credit and senior credit facilities.

Gray Television announced Tuesday evening that it reached an agreement in principle with Dish Network covering all of its stations. As a result, Gray said, no viewers will lose access to any of Gray’s television stations on Dish’s platform. Terms were not disclosed. Gray owns and/or operates 100 television stations across 54 television markets that collectively broadcast over 200 program streams including 101 channels affiliated with CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox.

The $278 million in deals adds stations in Green Bay, Wis., and Davenport, Iowa, as well as three in Fairbanks, Alaska. It now owns 100 stations covering 10.1% of the U.S.

The broadcaster says Tuesday at 7 p.m. the satellite provider will lose access to its stations if a new agreement or extension isn’t reached.

The company’s TV stations will use the OTT service to offer a mix of the top news stories and other content targeted to millennials’ interests based on their viewing habits, preferred publishers and favorite topics.

The sale of KCBJ-LP Juneau, Alaska, by Juneau Alaska Communications to Gray Television tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA/Kelsey.  

Revenue tops $204 million, driven by increased local and national sales, political and retrans. Retrans grows to $50.5 million. However, political came in at only $22 million. In its report, it says it  has a deal to buy KTVF (NBC), KXDD (CBS), and KFXF (Fox) in Fairbanks, Alaska, for $* million.

While many publicly traded station groups have taken a very distinct path toward their digital media investments, one common denominator is forging relationships with third-party aggregators as well as search engine marketing and search engine optimization partners. Here’s how six station groups are taking advantage of their unique strengths to scale their offerings and maintain their leadership positions in digital.

Recent polling suggests that the presidential race has tightened, the station group says. “Nevertheless, there can be no assurance that increased spending will materialize given the very unusual nature of this year’s late presidential campaign season.”

The company’s execs say a number of commission actions recently have been positive for broadcasters. Gray EVP Kevin Latek said he’s anxious for the incentive auction to be over so Gray can return to buying stations.

Revenue tops $196 million, driven by increased local and national sales, political, retrans and station acquisitions. Net income is $17.7 million. Retrans grows to $50.5 million.

Layoffs are underway at Gray-owned CBS affiliate WDBJ Roanoke, Va.

The former GM of WDBJ Roanoke, Va., and current Gray Television executive will be honored for his contributions to journalism on Sept. 19 at the Excellence in Journalism 2016 convention in New Orleans.