KJCT-TV in Grand Junction Sells for $12 Million

GRAND JUNCTION, COLO. — News-Press & Gazette Co. has sold KJCT-TV to Gray Television and Excalibur Broadcasting for a total of $12 million. The transactoin includes KJCT-TV and associated low-power television stations broadcasting ABC, CW, Telemundo, and local programming.

Subject to the consent of the Federal Communications Commission and other closing conditions, NPGCo, based in St. Joseph, Mo., will sell the licensed assets of the station to a subsidiary of Excalibur for $3 million. Subject to completing the sale of these licensed assets to Excalibur, Gray will provide back office, engineering, and sales support services to Excalibur. In a separate transaction that is also subject to the sale of the licensed assets of the station to Excalibur, NPGCo will sell certain other assets of these television stations to Gray for $9 million.

Atlanta-based Gray has 46 channels in 30 markets. Excalibur is a newly formed company purchasing its first TV station. The company is owned and operated by Don Ray, who recently retired as regional vice president of Gray and general manager of WSAZ-TV in Charleston/Huntington, W.V.

These transactions are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013.