Tegna

Tegna

Tegna was formed in 2015 when Gannett Co. split its publishing and broadcasting divisions into two publicly traded entities. Gracia Martore, then CEO of the combined Gannett, became the first chief executive of the new company, which took its name from a partial anagram of Gannett. The spin-off left Tegna with a portfolio of dozens of network-affiliated television stations, along with the digital marketing services business formerly known as G/O Digital. The company operates stations in 51 U.S. markets, including major hubs such as Atlanta, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Its revenue model blends traditional broadcast advertising with a growing push into subscription and marketing-services revenue, led by the Premion over-the-top (OTT) advertising platform. Tegna acquired the multicast network Justice Network and merged it with Quest in 2020 to form a free-to-air content engine. The firm also purchased the local-media operations of Dispatch Broadcast Group for $535 million in 2019, adding WBNS-10TV in Columbus, Ohio to its footprint. Tegna went private in late 2023 after Standard General, a hedge fund run by Soo Kim, completed a $5.4 billion acquisition approved by the FCC, taking on $3.4 billion in debt to finance the sale. The deal, first announced in February 2022, was delayed amid regulatory scrutiny but closed in November 2023. Post-acquisition, CEO Dave Lougee stepped down, and Standard General installed a new leadership team. The firm's structural differentiator is its position at the center of a politically contentious consolidation push — a FCC-regulated broadcaster with a private-equity-backed owner. Standard General's control means Tegna operates under the same ownership umbrella as Bally's Corporation, creating an unusual nexus of local television and regional sports betting, a relationship that has drawn antitrust interest.