16 Dec Allen Media Broadcasting to buy WCOV-TV for $28.5M

Upon close of the deal in 2022, Allen Media Broadcasting will own and operate 36 television stations in 21 U.S. markets

By George Winslow

LOS ANGELES—Allen Media Broadcasting, a division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has inked a purchase agreement to acquire the Montgomery, Alabama broadcast television station WCOV-TV Fox affiliate (UHF digital channel 22) from David Woods and his Woods Communications Corporation for $28.5 million in cash.

This acquisition is expected to close in 2022.

Upon closing, Allen’s acquisition of WCOV-TV will increase the number of broadcast television stations owned and/or operated by his Allen Media Broadcasting to 36 stations across 21 U.S. broadcast television markets. The WCOV-TV digital signal is multiplexed, with channel 20.1 designated as Fox, channel 20.2 designated as Antenna TV, and channel 20.3 designated as THIS TV (acquired by Allen Media Group from MGM in October, 2020).

Allen Media Broadcasting’s purchase agreement for WCOV-TV also includes these additional television station assets and their respective digital subchannel affiliates: Troy, Alabama-licensed Cozi TV affiliate WIYC/channel 48 (48.1: Cozi TV, 48.2: MyNetworkTV, 48.3: Heroes & Icons, 48.4: Court TV/Mystery, 48.5: TBD, 48.6: Comet, and 48.7: Charge!) and Montgomery, Alabama-licensed WALE/channel 17 (17.1: True Crime Network, 17.2: Laff, 17.3: Court TV, 17.4: Jewelry Television, 17.5: Movies!, 17.6: Heroes & Icons, and 17.7: Comet).

“WCOV-TV is an excellent asset and has been extremely well-managed for decades by the Woods family, who I’ve known for over 35 years,” said Byron Allen, founder, chairman, and CEO of Allen Media Group. “Over the past two years, we’ve invested approximately $1 billion to acquire best-in-class, top-tier, Big 4 broadcast network affiliates and we plan to invest significantly more to acquire additional ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox television stations with the goal of being the largest broadcast television group in America. All of our media assets work in concert to amplify our free-streaming services theGrio.TV, Sports.TV, HBCUGo.TV, The Weather Channel en Español, and Local Now.”