Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group (AMG) has agreed to sell 10 television stations to Atlanta-based Gray Media for $171 million, per a press release announced on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025.
The transaction expands Gray’s footprint into three new markets — Columbus-Tupelo, MS; Terre Haute, IN; and West Lafayette, IN — each home to the top-rated station in 2024. It will create “new duopolies” in seven other markets, allowing Gray to enhance local news, weather, and sports coverage while strengthening its public service efforts.
Allen had been looking to reduce debt by selling 28 local television stations affiliated with ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox, covering 21 U.S. markets, including Tupelo; Honolulu, HI; Flint, MI; and Tucson, AZ, AFROTECH™ previously reported.
The media mogul noted that AMG began investing over $1 billion six years ago to build a portfolio of major network-affiliated stations, per The Hollywood Reporter.
“We have received numerous inquiries and written offers for most of our television stations, and now is the time to explore getting a return on this phenomenal investment,” Allen said in June 2025, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “We are going to use this opportunity to take a serious look at the offers, and the sale proceeds will be used to significantly reduce our debt.”
In the shifting media landscape, AMG — reportedly valued at $4.5 billion in 2022, AFROTECH™ noted — has made several strategic moves. As AFROTECH™ told you, the company announced plans in January of this year to lay off or reassign nearly 100 local meteorologists across its two dozen stations, replacing them with a centralized weather feed from The Weather Channel in Atlanta.
While significant public backlash led AMG to reverse its decision and retain most local meteorologists, the company also refinanced its $100 million revolving credit facility in February 2025 to extend debt maturities and support ongoing operations.
At CES 2024 (Jan. 9–12, 2025), Allen explained his continued commitment to linear television despite the success of its streaming competitors.
“I can run them better just like I’m breathing right now,” Allen said, AFROTECH™ noted. “Right now, a lot of these legacy assets are overspending tremendously and there’s an enormous waste in our industry.”
Gray expects to close the deal by the end of 2025, pending regulatory approval, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ownership waivers, and other standard conditions, the news release states. AMG’s portfolio continues to include The Grio, streaming service Local Now, and 10 24-hour HD television networks such as HBCU GO, JusticeCentral.TV, Pets.TV, and Cars.TV, per AFROTECH™.
