In announcing the honor, TVNewsCheck Editor Harry A. Jessell cited among other things its disciplined buying strategy that this year yielded Schurz Communications. “Despite the uncertainty facing all legacy media, Gray seized the opportunity to grow in 2015 by snapping up stations that fit strict criteria — nothing but strong stations in strong markets," Jessell said. Once the Schurz deal closes, the group, headed by CEO Hilton Howell, will operate 175 channels in 50 markets.
TVNewsCheck today named Gray Television as its Station Group of the Year for 2016, citing its disciplined strategy of acquiring high-performing stations, its bold decision to bring national sales in-house and its technological innovations.
Assuming the $442.5 million acquisition of Schurz Communications broadcast stations closes as planned, Gray will own and operate 175 channels in 50 markets. With a reach of 8.5%, it ranks 15th on the TVNewsCheck–BIA/Kelsey Top 30 station group ranking.
“Despite the uncertainty facing all legacy media, Gray seized the opportunity to grow in 2015 by snapping up stations that fit strict criteria — nothing but strong stations in strong markets,” said TVNewsCheck Editor Harry A. Jessell. “The Schurz deal epitomized the buying strategy.”
Led by CEO Hilton Howell, Gray surprised the industry by announcing in August that it was dropping its rep firms and bringing national sales in-house. “That sent powerful ripples throughout the industry,” Jessell said.
Gray is also known for embracing new ways of production and distribution, Jessell added. “It’s been a leader in using augmented reality in news production and in streaming programming on OTT platforms. Its CBS affiliates were among the first to offer CBS All Access.”
Gray will be the subject of a feature article in TVNewsCheck’s Executive Outlook magazine, which will be distributed at the NATPE Market & Conference (Jan. 19-21, 2016) in Miami, and sent to every station group executive, general manager, news director, chief engineer, digital chief and promotions manager in the U.S. The article will subsequently be posted on TVNewsCheck.com.
Gray is the third company to receive the Station Group of the Year honor. In 2014, it went to Sinclair Broadcast Group. This year, the recipient was Raycom Media.
About TVNewsCheck: Founded in 2006, TVNewsCheck is the leading source of business news for the broadcast TV industry. It also publishes TVNewsCheck’s Executive Outlook, a premium print publication that addresses the future of the industry.
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Comments (4)
Christina Fleming says:
October 20, 2015 at 11:04 am
That is a great award for significantly over paying for TV assets. I am confident this award has something to do with how much you advertise with TVNewsCheck.
David Siegler says:
October 21, 2015 at 10:10 am
Could you point to a Gray Television advertisement in TVN, I don’t see any. Are you talking about the classified ads?
alicia farmer says:
October 20, 2015 at 12:19 pm
Huh?
Bo Inscho says:
October 20, 2015 at 4:26 pm
Let’s award getting bigger, guess TVNC will be running out of Companies to award as we will be down to 4-5 soon.
How about recognizing news and programming quality and service to the community? Guess this is a Wall Street competition for who can borrow the most money?