Scripps Closes Ion Deal; FCC Quietly Approved Dec. 15
E.W. Scripps completed its $2.65 billion deal to buy Ion Media from Black Diamond Capital Management, divesting 23 stations to the newly formed Inyo Broadcasting, it announced Thursday. The FCC approved Dec. 15 but announced the OK only in the…
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brief listing of broadcast actions three days later (see 2101070039). No petitions to deny were filed, and no conditions were required, a Scripps spokesperson said. Scripps is holding on to 48 of the stations and plans to combine Ion’s content with its Katz networks and Newsy for a “full-scale national television networks business,” the release said. “Bringing our networks together with ION will create a formidable national television business focused on connecting with audiences and advertisers in the rapidly evolving media landscape,” said Scripps CEO Adam Symson. Inyo is headed by interim CEO John Chachas and Chief Operating Officer Louis Zachary, the managing principals of Methuselah Advisors, a media broker that worked with Scripps in the past and on this deal (see 2011050024). The FCC didn’t comment.