SJL Grabs ABC O&O Pair For $30 Million
SJL Broadcast Management is acquiring WTVG Toledo for $16.8 million and WJRT Flint for $13.2 million, according to an FCC filing. The seller is Disney and the deal is expected to close early in the new year.
Earlier this month, B&C reported that SJL, fronted by broadcasting veteran George Lilly, had worked out a deal to acquire the two ABC-owned stations. Lilly envisions WJRT and WTVG as flagships for a group of six to eight stations, comprised of Big Four affiliates that are market leaders or close seconds.
"If you're starting to build a group, what better stations to use as the flagship?" he told B&C earlier this month.
SJL is backed by Sankaty Advisors, an affiliate of Bain Capital.
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Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.