Gray to acquire WSYM (Fox 47) in swap with Scripps

[zzand]

Channels 4 and 59 in Indy went through all that a few years ago. Has worked well for them. They took the strongest news people from both stations and built a great staff.

[SBaxley]

i got to agree, I think Scripps would sell or swap a few stations that are "dead weight" in the Scripps money vault ..
WMAR Baltimore would be one example. but what would y'all say out of the major ones , I mean the BIG Stations of "THE LIGHTHOUSE"
would or COULD Scripps want to say "see ya" to??? would they want to risk WXYZ, or even WEWS for trade bait ?!

[GrahamWellington]

Any word on this deal? Originally was supposed to close 4th quarter of 2025, as we are closing in on 2nd quarter 2026. Announced with great fanfare locally but now not a peep. Did it silently fall through?

[SBaxley]

The deal is still pending, its been delayed

[jmeltonwx]

Green light from the FCC...
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-417A1.pdf

[TonySpaghetti]

https://rbr.com/fcc-approves-scripps-gr ... bjections/

[SBaxley]

and get this , Fox 47 stays at 600 w. st. joe for the rest of the year , until WILX expands their american road HQ so as they can give WSYM TV their own space . [like what WMAQ TV did when NBCU purchased Telemundo and WSNS 44 moved into the NBC Tower HQ ]

[MWmetalhead]

It's official!

Gray now owns WSYM-TV. The deal closed earlier today.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/new ... 1036164302

[gotigers]

Studio expansion incoming. https://www.wilx.com/2026/06/03/gray-me ... expansion/

No details about what the on-air product will look like for Fox 47, but it does say they're "uniting teams under the News 10 brand." I would assume that means it will be something like "New 10 on Fox 47" and not the illusion of two separate news teams like they did during their news-share agreement days.

[gotigers]

I'm in Jackson for the week and tuned into News 10 at 6. One story about a data center in Mason was clearly a Fox 47 piece that WILX just plopped into their newscast. David Andrews referred to the reporter as "News 10's (name)" before throwing to the pre-taped package that began with the typical anchorless setup where the reporter introduced herself, something I've never seen during a typical newscast. It made my ears perk up, so I checked the WILX and Fox 47 websites... That reporter isn't on WILX's Meet the Team page, but she is on the Fox 47 website. It's smart business to share stories, but the two different newscast styles don't quite fit together.

[gotigers]

On August 10, News 10 and Fox 47 News are combining. They posted a video on their Facebook page advertising it. "Your favorite faces on both stations." There are some good throwbacks of Darrin Rockcole and Andy Provenzano thrown in there. They linked to a list of changes to the schedule on both stations. Looks like they're dropping the "Fox 47 News" branding completely.

https://www.wilx.com/2026/07/19/fox-47- ... expansion/

[GrahamWellington]

Looks like they are adding a couple hours in the morning (essentially replacing the Fox 47 newscast) along with bringing back the noon newscast (an hour long, at that).

I'm assuming "The 517 Report" will be similar fluff programming to Studio 10.

Overall a strong lineup, and with the investment Gray is putting into the facilities, the gap between WILX and WLNS in terms of quality and content will continue to widen.

On a side note, when did Bob Hoffman start going by "Bobby"?

[wsummers]

Staffing changes are beginning to be announced. WSYM’s Bryan Bachman will be moving to the 7pm to 11:35 news programs. A J Walker has announced August 7 is her last day. I assume Jake DeRees is also on the way out as there is no need for more than 5 meteorologists. As far as the WSYM reporters, I expect about half to be laid off even with extra newscasts.

[SBaxley]

but, lets not forget that WSYM is staying at their studios on st. joseph rd, until the new American Way studios are complete [ WSYMs lease at st. joseph rd. expires in 'late december 2026]

[high fidelity]

Will the new facility have separate studios for WILX and WSYM? It gets complicated with multiple stations under one roof since sports programming throws off start times.