Excalibur Broadcasting has agreed to acquire WQCW in Portsmouth, OH from
Lockwood Broadcast Group for $5.5 million. Excalibur is run by former
Gray Television exec Don Ray. Gray Television also announced a shared
services agreement with Excalibur for WQCW, which airs in
Charleston-Huntington, DMA No. 65, and low power WOCW Charleston (WV),
which kicks in when the Excalibur acquisition closes.
Gray owns
powerhouse WSAZ in Charleston-Huntington; Ray was formerly the general
manager there, and a Gray regional VP. It has agreed to provide
back-office services and limited programming to WQCW.
"Acquiring the
Tri-State's CW while simultaneously leveraging the resources of WSAZ for
WQCW's benefit presents an incredible opportunity to provide better
service for area viewers and local businesses," said Ray.
The parties expect the WQCW deal, subject to regulatory approval, to close in the first quarter of 2014.
"We
look forward to building upon the talent and resources of both WSAZ and
WQCW to better serve the greater Charleston and Huntington region,"
said Kevin Latek, Gray senior VP for business affairs.
Excalibur agreed to acquire KJCT Grand Junction (CO) in August.
