Disclosure: Jon Ellis is an employee of Gray Television, which operates TV stations that compete with those mentioned in this report. The statements and views expressed in this posting are my own and do not reflect those of Gray Television.
Coastal Television Group is buying the FOX affiliates in Duluth and Fargo from Red River Broadcast Corp. for $18.1 million, according to an asset purchase agreement filed with the FCC on Dec. 8.
The purchase price is subject to adjustment, according to the agreement.
Included are KQDS-TV/21.1 (Duluth), seven KQDS-TV translators, KVRR/15.1 (Fargo), KJRR/7.1 (Jamestown), KBRR/10.1 (Thief River Falls-Grand Forks), and KNRR/12.1 (Pembina). FCC applications to assign the licenses indicate Coastal plans to continue operating KJRR, KBRR, and KNRR as satellites of KVRR.
Coastal Television owns stations in ten markets, the closest of which are in Indiana and Wyoming. William A Fielder III of Georgia holds 76.3% of the assets and 100% of the votes in the company.
The deal was first announced by the stations on Dec. 1.
Forum Communications had announced plans to buy KVRR and KQDS-TV in 2021, but the FCC never acted on applications to transfer the licenses in the $24 million deal. Since Forum already owns ABC affiliate WDAY-TV/6.1 (Fargo), the deal would have required a rare waiver of FCC rules that prohibit co-ownership of two full-power stations ranking in the top four.
Forum announced earlier this year that Red River had withdrawn from the deal. Red River formally withdrew FCC applications to transfer the licenses to Forum in November.
Fargo-based Red River is owned by the Kunin family’s Curtis Squire Inc.
The stations are the last two owned by Red River, which previously sold NBC affiliate KDLT-TV/46.1 (Sioux Falls) to Gray TV. Sister company Red Rock Radio sold more than two dozen radio stations in eight separate transactions in 2016 and 2017.
This item was first posted on Dec. 2 and was updated on Dec. 9 with details of the FCC filing.