Gray Buying, Selling More Stations as Part of Schurz Takeover

Gray Television is selling stations in three markets to facilitate regulatory approval for its planned buy of Schurz Communications' TV and radio stations (see 1509150075), and buying three TV stations, the broadcast company said in a Thursday news release. Gray will sell KAKE Wichita, Kansas, to Lockwood Broadcast for Lockwood's WBXX-TV Cookeville, Tennessee, and $11.2 million cash, it said. Under the Schurz deal, Gray is picking up KWCH-DT Hutchinson, Kansas. According to Gray, there will be no shared services agreement with Lockwood and KAKE will operate independently from Gray and KWCH after the transaction. Gray also will swap WSBT-TV South Bend, Indiana -- currently owned by Schurz -- for Sinclair's WLUC-TV Marquette, Michigan. Gray already owns WNDU-TV South Bend. Gray will sell Schurz's KOTA-TV Rapid City, South Dakota, to Legacy Broadcasting for $1, but will keep the assets used for KOTA's ABC program stream. After the transaction, it said, it plans to transition the existing ABC programming stream to its KEVN-TV Rapid City. And Gray said it plans to buy Fireweed Communications' KYES-TV Anchorage for $500,000 and apply to the FCC for a "failing station" waiver of local ownership rules to allow combining it with Schurz's KTUU-TV Anchorage. Gray said the transactions should close by the end of Q1.