RNN National Media Group headquartered in Rye Brook is buying eight TV stations from NRJ for $81.2 million.
The stations are KSCI-TV in the Los Angeles designated market area (DMA); WTVE-TV and WPHY-CD in the Philadelphia DMA; KFWD-TV in the Dallas-Fort Worth DMA; KUBE-TV in the Houston DMA; KCNS-TV in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose DMA; WMFP-TV in the Boston DMA; and KIKU-TV in the Honolulu DMA.
RNN currently owns four TV stations, including WRNN-TV in New York.
The agreement was firmed up on Nov. 27, and applications for transfer of the government licenses to operate the eight stations were filed with the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC must approve the transfers and, once that has been done, the deal can close, which is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2020.
“This is a milestone for our company. We are looking forward to programming our newly expanded, national presence,” said Richard French Jr., CEO and president of RNN.
Edward Van Saders, chief strategy officer of RNN said, “With a foothold of permanent, must-carry distribution, we will activate our entrepreneurial core around award-winning content creation as we continue to invest in an efficient, national operation.”
With the purchase, RNN will operate in eight of the top 10 TV markets, covering over 28% of the country and reaching more than 86 million people with must-carry distribution, ranking it among the 10 largest broadcasters, by reach, in the U.S.
RNN is a privately-owned portfolio of independent broadcast assets and production/distribution capabilities in Rye Brook, while NRJ provides various television broadcasting services in the U.S.
