Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group (AMG) has sold 10 local television stations to Gray Media for $171 million in a deal announced on August 8, 2025. The transaction, which is pending regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.
This sale marks a significant move for Allen Media Group, which has been grappling with financial challenges and debt, prompting a strategic divestiture of part of its broadcast portfolio.
The sale involves 10 television stations affiliated with major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX) across 10 markets, primarily in the South and Midwest. The stations included are:
- WAAY (ABC) in Huntsville, Alabama
- WSIL (ABC) in Paducah-Cape Girardeau-Harrisburg, Kentucky/Illinois
- WEVV (CBS/FOX) in Evansville, Indiana
- WFFT (FOX) in Fort Wayne, Indiana
- WCOV (FOX) in Montgomery, Alabama
- KADN (FOX/NBC) in Lafayette, Louisiana
- WTVA (ABC/NBC) in Columbus-Tupelo, Mississippi
- WREX (NBC) in Rockford, Illinois
- WTHI (CBS/FOX) in Terre Haute, Indiana
- WLFI (CBS) in West Lafayette, Indiana
The deal expands Gray Media’s footprint by adding three new markets—Columbus-Tupelo, Mississippi; Terre Haute, Indiana; and West Lafayette, Indiana—where these stations reportedly held the highest all-day ratings in 2024, according to Comscore data.
Additionally, the acquisition creates new duopolies in seven existing Gray markets, allowing the company to enhance local news, weather, and sports programming and strengthen its market dominance.
Gray Media, already the nation’s largest owner of top-rated local TV stations, will now serve 113 television markets, reaching approximately 37% of U.S. television households.
Byron Allen, a former comedian turned media mogul, founded Allen Media Group (originally Entertainment Studios) in 1993. Over the years, AMG expanded into a significant player in the media industry, acquiring 28 network-affiliated TV stations across 21 U.S. markets, along with assets like The Weather Channel and streaming services such as Local Now.
Between 2019 and 2021, Allen invested over $1 billion to build this broadcast portfolio, with ambitions to become the largest broadcast television group in the U.S. by investing $10 billion in acquisitions.
However, the rapidly changing media landscape, marked by cord-cutting and a shift in advertising budgets to digital platforms, has strained AMG’s finances. In June 2025, Allen announced plans to sell all 28 of AMG’s TV stations, hiring investment bank Moelis & Co. to market the portfolio and reduce the company’s debt.
The sale of these 10 stations to Gray Media represents roughly a third of AMG’s broadcast holdings, suggesting a piecemeal approach to maximize returns. Other AMG stations, such as those in Honolulu, Hawaii; Madison, Wisconsin; Flint, Michigan; and Tucson, Arizona, remain on the market.