Gannett Agrees to Sell KMOV As Part of Belo Merger

By Merrill Knox 

The Department of Justice will require Gannett Co. to sell St. Louis CBS affiliate KMOV in order to proceed with the pending acquisition of Belo Corp.

The DOJ says Gannett, Belo Corp. and Sander Media LLC, which will acquire six stations in markets where Gannett and Belo overlap as part of the merger, must “divest substantially all of the assets used in the operation of KMOV-TV in St. Louis, Missouri, which is currently owned by Belo.”

Without the divestiture, “Gannett would have gained a dominant position in broadcast television spot advertising in the St. Louis area, resulting in higher prices advertisers,” the DOJ said in a statement.

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KSDK, Gannett’s NBC affiliate in St. Louis, will not be impacted by the sale of KMOV, Gannett says.

The Gannett-Belo merger remains subject to approval by the FCC. It is expected to close by the end of the year.

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