GTN News & Events

Gray Media has reached an agreement with American Spirit to acquire its six television stations for $50M. Earlier, the parties completed the first of two closings of the transaction through which, among other things, Gray paid $40M to American Spirit and commenced a limited local management agreement for the stations. The consideration for the first of the two closings was funded with a portion of the proceeds of a private placement of $70M of aggregate principal amount of the company's 7.25% Senior Secured First Lien Notes due 2033, which was completed on June 30. Gray anticipates utilizing cash on hand to complete the second and final portion of the transaction in the fourth quarter of this year following receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, at which time the local management agreement will end.

Gray Media (GTN) closed on its cash-free, even exchange of comparable assets with the E.W. Scripps Company (SSP) involving the swap of television stations across five mid-sized and small markets that the parties announced in July 2025. Under the terms of the agreement, Gray has acquired: WSYM in Lansing, Michigan, where Gray owns WILX; and KATC in Lafayette, Louisiana, where Gray owns KADN and KLAF-LP as well as leading television stations in each of the other Louisiana markets. In exchange, Scripps has acquired: KKTV in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where Scripps owns KOAA; KKCO and low power station KJCT-LP in Grand Junction, Colorado; and KMVT and low power station KSVT-LD in Twin Falls, Idaho, where Scripps owns low power station KSAW-LD. Gray has now consummated all previously announced television station transactions.

Reports Q1 revenue $768M, consensus $768.05M. CEO Hilton Howell, Jr. commented, "Our Q1 2026 results were solid, with Core Advertising exceeding our guidance and Political revenue at the high end of our guidance range. A recently resolved dispute with a distribution partner impacted our Net Retransmission Revenue for the quarter. With all scheduled 2026 retransmission negotiations now complete and the improvement in underlying MVPD subscriber trends, we now have visibility on our growth in Net Retransmission Revenue for full year 2026. While we are seeing some softness in core advertising in Q2, we are optimistic that, as the largest owner of top-rated local television stations and a footprint covering most of the competitive races, we will again capitalize on a strong mid-term political cycle. We were thrilled to have added new stations in four new markets during Q1...We are strengthening our market position through innovative sports partnerships - including airing 19 MLB teams across our 16 broadcast sports networks this year - while continuing to focus on the balance sheet, evaluating accretive M&A opportunities, and attracting the best and brightest talent to Gray."