The deal gives The E.W. Scripps Company a Lexington duopoly alongside NBC affiliate WLEX as it reshapes its local TV portfolio through station sales and swaps.
The E.W. Scripps Company said it has closed its previously announced purchase of WTVQ, the ABC affiliate in Lexington, Kentucky, from Morris Network, Inc. for $15.8 million. The transaction pairs WTVQ with Scripps' existing NBC affiliate, WLEX, creating a duopoly in Lexington and expanding the broadcaster’s local media footprint in Central Kentucky. Scripps framed the acquisition as part of a broader effort to optimize its local television portfolio through acquisitions, divestitures and other station transactions. Earlier this year, the company completed the sales of WFTX in Fort Myers, Florida, and WRTV in Indianapolis for combined gross proceeds of $123 million, and it also recently finished a station swap with Gray Media that expanded its presence in the Mountain West. Scripps describes itself as one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, with about 60 stations in 40 markets.