Gray Television announced this morning it’s acquisition of Raycom Media for $3.65B to build the third largest broadcast television group.
What Will the New Gray/Raycom Look Like
- The combined group will own 142 full-power television stations in 92 markets
- The 142 stations carry 165 affiliates of ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX, as well as 100+ of CW, MyNetworkTV, and MeTV.
- The stations will reach 24% of US television households including Tampa, Cleveland, and Charlotte
What This Means for Cord Cutters
The good news is that most of the streaming services already have deals with Gray and Raycom.
The bad news is that local retransmission fees (the prices services pay for local channels) have continued to go up every year. Now that Gray/Raycom have a larger footprint, they may have more bargaining power against the different services.
While this won’t necessarily mean higher prices in the near term, but it may mean that your streaming service will be forced to increase the price of subscriptions in the future.