English Entertainment
Gray Television to acquire Schurz Communications for $442.5 million
MUMBAI: Atlanta based Gray Television, Inc has reached an agreement to acquire all of the television and radio stations of Schurz Communications, Inc for approximately $442.5 million including working capital at closing.
The deal demonstrates Gray’s commitment to acquire high-quality stations in attractive markets and will increase Gray’s scale, the quality of its portfolio, and its exposure to politically competitive markets.
The addition of the Schurz stations will expand Gray’s operations to a total of 49 television markets and 28 states.
“Today is a momentous day in Gray’s 118-year history. Through the Schurz transaction, we will significantly expand the quality of our portfolio of leading television stations. We welcome more dedicated reporters, account executives, and technologists to our growing family. Quite simply, Gray’s existing stations will make the Schurz stations stronger, while the Schurz stations will make our existing stations better,” said Gray president and CEO Hilton H. Howell, Jr.
“In a rapidly consolidating industry where size and scale matter more than ever before, we have come to the realization that Gray Television would be the best steward to ensure our stations succeed over the long-term. Gray knows how to operate top stations in small and medium-sized markets, and they have an entrepreneurial and decentralized culture. Moreover, Gray shares our commitment to local communities, staffs, journalistic ideals, and the broadcasting industry. Being part of a larger company with these important credentials will create more opportunities for employees and the communities that we all love,” added Schurz president and CEO Todd Schurz.
English Entertainment
Ellison takes his Paramount-Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
The Skydance chief goes to CinemaCon with promises and a skeptical crowd waiting
CALIFORNIA: David Ellison strode into a room packed with thousands of cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday and did something rather bold: he looked them in the eye and asked them to trust him.
The chief executive of Paramount Skydance vowed that his company would release a minimum of 30 films a year if regulators greenlight its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has made theater owners deeply, and loudly, nervous.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison told the crowd. “Once we combine with Warner Bros, we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually across both studios.”
It was a confident pitch. Whether it landed is another matter. Cinema operators have already called on regulators to block the deal, and scepticism in the room was hardly concealed.
Ellison pushed back by pointing to recent form. Paramount, born from the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media last August, plans to release 15 films this year, nearly double the eight it put out in 2025. Progress, he argued, was already underway.
He also threw theater owners a bone they have long been chasing: all films, he pledged, would run exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days, drawing applause from a crowd that has spent years fighting for exactly that commitment across the industry.
“People can speculate all they want,” Ellison said, “but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fine words. The regulators, however, will have the last one.
