The Federal Communications Commission has given its official blessing to the transfer of three television station licenses from Allen Media Group to Gray Media, moving one of the broadcast industry’s more closely watched consolidation deals significantly closer to completion, per RBR+TVBR.

The FCC’s Media Bureau issued a letter on March 23 granting the transfer of three stations, concluding that the applications fully comply with the Commission’s rules and that no other issues or potential public interest harms were identified that would require further consideration.

These stations include:

WAAY-TV (Huntsville, AL): ABC

WSIL-TV (Paducah, KY – Cape Girardeau, MO – Harrisburg, IL): ABC

WEVV-TV (Evansville, IN): CBS (Primary) / Fox (Digital Subchannel 44.2)

WFFT-TV (Fort Wayne, IN): Fox

WCOV-TV (Montgomery, AL): Fox

KADN-TV (Lafayette, LA): Fox

WTVA-TV (Columbus – Tupelo, MS): NBC (Primary) / ABC (Digital Subchannel 9.2)

WREX-TV (Rockford, IL): NBC (Primary) / The CW (Digital Subchannel 13.2)

WTHI-TV (Terre Haute, IN): CBS (Primary) / Fox (Digital Subchannel 10.2)

WLFI-TV (West Lafayette, IN): CBS (Primary) / The CW (Digital Subchannel 18.2)

The approvals cover three stations that represent entirely new markets for Gray: WTVA in Columbus-Tupelo, Mississippi; WTHI-TV in Terre Haute, Indiana; and WLFI in West Lafayette, Indiana. The Justice Department also weighed in, with the FCC noting that DOJ staff indicated it does not intend to take any action related to the applications.

The approvals are a significant milestone in a transaction that Gray Media announced nearly eight months ago. The Atlanta-based broadcaster struck a deal last August to acquire Allen Media Group television stations in 10 markets for $171 million, after Byron Allen’s company announced plans to sell its 21 network affiliate stations in June.

In addition to expanding into those three new markets, Gray expects the transaction to strengthen its presence in seven other markets by creating new duopolies, which the company says would allow it to deepen public service to local communities through expanded local news, weather, and sports programming.

The regulatory process drew attention from a number of interested parties. DirecTV, the Georgia Cable Association, the Illinois Broadband and Cable Association, the Indiana Cable and Broadband Association, the Tennessee Cable and Broadband Association, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice were among the groups that filed papers with the FCC regarding the license transfers.

The approvals come at a moment of significant regulatory momentum for Gray Media, which has been aggressively pursuing expansion under what it views as a favorable climate for broadcast consolidation. Gray Media CEO Hilton Howell Jr. told investors earlier this year that the company currently has five transactions pending FCC approval, including the Allen Media deal, and expressed strong optimism about completing them.

Howell has argued that consolidation is essential for the survival of local broadcasting, pointing to intense competition from large technology companies like Google and Meta as a key driver of the need for scale. The sentiment is widely shared across the industry, as broadcasters look to the current FCC leadership for relief from long-standing ownership restrictions.

The broader Allen Media deal had originally been targeted for completion in the fourth quarter of 2025, though regulatory timelines pushed that schedule. With the three new-market license transfers now approved, Gray is positioned to move forward on closing at least a portion of the acquisition.

Gray Media, headquartered in Atlanta, is the third-largest television station operator in the United States by number of stations, owning or operating 180 stations across 113 markets nationwide. The company’s portfolio includes stations in markets collectively reaching approximately 37 percent of U.S. television households, along with the largest Telemundo affiliate group with 44 markets.

The completion of the Allen Media acquisition, combined with other pending deals, is expected to further cement Gray’s position as a dominant force in local television just as the industry navigates a rapidly shifting media landscape, ongoing retransmission consent battles, and evolving FCC ownership rules that could reshape the competitive landscape for years to come.

Please add Cord Cutters News as a source for your Google News feed HERE. Please follow us on Facebook and X for more news, tips, and reviews. Need cord cutting tech support? Join our Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help.