Broadcast Station Deals Total $5.11B in 2Q, says Kagan

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Broadcast station merger and acquisition activity totaled $5.11 billion in the second quarter of 2018, the biggest quarter since second quarter 2007, according to Kagan.

Kagan says that 98% of the volume was attributable to TV stations sales, led by Gray Television’s acquisition of Raycom Media for $3.65 billion.

The second-quarter total also includes some sales designed to help Sinclair Broadcast Group’s acquisition of Tribune pass regulator muster. The big deals including the sale of seven stations to 21 Century Fox for $10 million and nine stations to Standard Media Group for $441.7 million.

Despite the strong volume, the pace of deal making was relatively slow. Excluding the Gray deal and Sinclair spinoffs, volume would have been just $185.8 million, the lowest since fourth quarter of 2016.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.