Q1 2019 sees spike in broadcast M&A deal volume
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Michelle Clancy
| 07 May 2019

US TV broadcast station mergers and acquisitions volume reached $5.1 billion in the first quarter of 2019, according to a study from the Kagan media research group.

That comes in as the largest quarterly deal volume since the second quarter of 2007.

Kagan noted that the quarter's top TV deals included New York-based equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC taking a majority stake in Cox Media Group, which included 14 full-power and nine low-power TV stations together with four radio stations and one newspaper at $3.1 billion. Apollo took a similar majority stake in Northwest Broadcasting, paying $384 million.

Nexstar meanwhile announced it had reached two agreements, one with EW Scripps Co and one with TEGNA, to sell 19 stations in 15 markets for a total of $1.32 billion. The divestitures were necessary for the FCC's approval of Nexstar's merger with Tribune Media, announced in December 2018.

And in a $45 million deal in February, Gray Television extended its market into two new markets and two new states, buying two CBS affiliates, WWNY-TV in the New York market and KEYC-TV in the Minnesota market from United Communications Corp.