In a deal that nearly doubles the company’s television operations, Gannett has agreed to purchase the Belo Corporation for around $1.5 billion.
The buy increases Gannett’s TV portfolio from from 23 stations to 43 and is the biggest local television station sale in nearly 10 years. It should vault Gannett past Sinclair to become the No. 3 local station owner in the US in terms of revenues. News Corporation stands at No. 1, followed by the CBS Corporation.
Following the deal, Gannett will have 21 stations in the nation’s top 25 markets. The deal with Belo is expected to close by the end of the year.
Read the full story at DealBook.
Brief Take: This move is the latest step in a yearlong strategy by Gannett to diversify its media operations amid continued struggles in the print industry.The benefits of growing in this way are numerous, including more leverage when negotiating with cable and satellite distributors over retransmission fees; leveraging a greater scale when negotiating with the networks that provide Gannett with programming; and earning increased revenue from having a presence in more markets across the country.
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