Hours before a July 13 construction deadline, the permittees of dozens of new low-power TV stations in the Upper Midwest submitted applications to transfer them to new owners.
Though the July 13 deadline has passed, not all is lost: all of the permits have sought six-month extensions, and some have already been granted.
The most high-profile buyer is Gray TV, which is adding a dozen future low-power TV stations in Upper Midwest markets where it owns or is buying full-power TV stations. Its deal with Landover 2 LLC and CTB Spectrum Services Two LLC specifies a $712,000 price for 17 permits nationwide.
The Upper Midwest permits that are part of the Gray purchase include K23MQ-D (Duluth, MN), K43OH-D (Racine, MN), K45MO-D (Racine, MN), K33MW-D (Sherburne, MN), K45LQ-D (Bismarck, ND), K39LK-D (Dickinson, ND), K38OK-D (Minot, ND), K46ME-D (Williston, ND), K40MR-D (Caputa, SD), K42KU-D (Caputa, SD), K46LO-D (Deadwood, SD), and K48NF-D (Deadwood, SD).
The deal also specifies that CTB will surrender the permit for K24OF-D (Duluth).
The permits that are assigned to channels 38 and up will also have to seek lower channel numbers, since the upper end of the UHF band was discontinued last year as a result of the spectrum auction. (LPTV callsigns indicate the channel number, such as K48NF being on channel 48.)
Regular readers will recall that Gray also bought LPTV permits in Eau Claire and Wausau earlier this year.
The sale price was much lower for a different deal filed this week involving Landover 2 LLC and CTB Spectrum Services Two LLC. Lowcountry 34 Media, LLC is buying 108 construction permits for new low-power TV stations for just $100.
The Upper Midwest permits in the Lowcountry 34 Media deal are K43OD-D (Brainerd, MN), K45MJ-D (Hewitt, MN), K47OF-D (Oakland, MN), K50NJ-D (Rushmore, MN), K39LX-D (Sauk Centre, MN), K26MG-D (Wells, MN), K50NB-D (Wells, MN), K40NK-D (Bismarck, ND), K48NB-D (Horace, ND), K49MO-D (Valley City, ND), W43DJ-D (Merrill, WI), and W50EU-D (Merrill, WI).
In other deals, Innovative Media Technologies is buying the construction permits for four new low-power TV stations, including K26PF-D (St. Cloud), from DTV America and HC2 Broadcasting for $35,000. The other stations are outside of the Upper Midwest.
Innovative Media Technologies is also buying the construction permit for new low-power TV station K06QJ-D (Sioux Falls) from DTV America for $5,000.
Julie Huang’s Roseland Broadcasting is buying the construction permit for new low-power TV station K33QM-D (Grand Forks) from HC2 Broadcasting for $7,000.
Lowcountry and Roseland have also been buyers in other previously-reported transactions.
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