Scripps Finalizes $15.8M Purchase of Lexington ABC Affiliate WTVQ
E.W. Scripps has closed its acquisition of WTVQ from Morris Network, expanding its local broadcast footprint in Kentucky.
The E.W. Scripps Company has completed its acquisition of WTVQ, the ABC affiliate serving the Lexington, Kentucky market, paying $15.8 million to seller Morris Network, Inc. The deal, which had been announced previously, marks another step in Scripps' ongoing strategy of consolidating local television station ownership across mid-sized American markets.
Lexington represents a meaningful addition to the Scripps portfolio. As Kentucky's second-largest city and home to the University of Kentucky, the market offers a stable advertising base anchored by sports programming, healthcare, and regional retail — categories that tend to sustain local broadcast revenue even as national ad markets fluctuate.
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The transaction also illustrates a broader pattern in local television: legacy family and regional broadcast groups like Morris Network are increasingly divesting individual stations, while larger operators such as Scripps capitalize on scale advantages in technology, news production, and national advertising sales. At $15.8 million, the price reflects the competitive but measured valuations currently seen in mid-tier broadcast markets, where streaming disruption has tempered but not eliminated the strategic value of over-the-air affiliates.
For Scripps, owning an ABC affiliation in Lexington strengthens its relationship with a major network partner and diversifies its geographic exposure beyond markets it already serves. Whether the company moves to integrate WTVQ's news operations with shared resources or maintains largely independent local programming will be a key operational question going forward.
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