Gray Television said that it reached a new deal with Paramount Global covering the renewal of all 54 of Gray’s current CBS affiliates.
The agreement covers stations in seven markets acquired from Meredith and 47 stations previously owned by Gray.
The stations’ signals will continue to be available to subscribers of Paramount Plus and on virtual MVPD platforms.
“At a time when local news is more valued than ever — and under greater pressure than ever — Gray is very pleased to have reached an agreement that builds upon the decades-long relationship with CBS in dozens of markets, large and small,” Pat LaPlatney, co-CEO of Gray Television, said. “With this renewal, we intend to continue to invest in local news, weather and sports reporting, while bringing CBS’ premium programming to our local communities.”
In less than two years since Gray acquired Meredith and Quincy Media in the second half of 2021, the company said it has approved capital investments exceeding $74 million for those stations, including more than $40 million collectively on WANF, the CBS affiliate in Atlanta, and KMOV, the CBS affiliate in St. Louis.
Across just the seven former Meredith CBS markets, Gray has launched local news bureaus, added state-of-the-art equipment, created more than 100 hours of additional locally produced news programming each week and added 154 full-time local journalists and other station employees, the company said. Gray said it is now recruiting to fill an additional 74 open positions in those seven CBS markets.
Gray is the largest independent owner of CBS affiliates in the country, covering nearly 18% of the U.S. television households and nearly 22 million households. Nearly all of Gray’s CBS affiliates have been broadcasting CBS network programming from their very first days on the air.
