Nexstar Sells Eight Stations to Scripps for $580M

Nexstar has struck deals to sell all but two of the stations it is spinning off as part of its deal to acquire Tribune. Scripps is buying eight stations in seven markets for $580 million.

That is in addition to the deal struck with Tegna, which will pay $740 million for 11 stations, totaling $1.32 billion in total, something north of initial expectations.

The deals are contingent on FCC approval of that Tribune deal.

Nexstar has two other stations in Indianapolis it says it also plans to divest.

Scripps will get WPIX New York (CW), KASW Phoenix (CW), WSFL Miami (CW), KSTU Salt Lake City (Fox), WTKR/WGNT Norfolk (CBS/CW), WXMI Grand Rapids, and WTVR Richmond.

“As with our prior acquisitions, we announced the Tribune transaction after developing a comprehensive regulatory compliance plan for required station divestitures and a detailed integration plan that will result in significant synergy realization," said Nexstar CEO Perry Sook. "The proposed divestitures announced today mark an important step in fulfilling Nexstar’s commitment to regulatory bodies to divest certain television stations in order to comply with the FCC local and national television ownership rules and to obtain FCC and Department of Justice approval of the proposed Nexstar/Tribune Media transaction."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.