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Mission Broadcasting To Acquire WADL-TV Detroit From Adell Broadcasting

May 19, 2023

Mission Broadcasting, Inc. announced May 17 that it has agreed to acquire WADL-TV in Detroit, Michigan from Adell Broadcasting Corporation. The MyNetworkTV affiliated station has been serving Detroit, the nation's 14th largest market, since its launch in May 1989, and currently reaches nearly two million television households. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquisition of WADL is Mission's second entry into the state of Michigan; the broadcast group also owns WLAJ-TV, the ABC affiliate serving Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital.  WLAJ maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with Nexstar Media Group, owner of CBS affiliate WLNS-TV.

"The purchase of WADL represents a rare opportunity to acquire a full-power station in a top-15 market," said Dennis Thatcher, President of Mission Broadcasting, Inc. "We are very excited about playing a role in the continued renaissance of this great American city."

Kevin Adell, Chief Executive Officer of Adell Broadcasting, commented, "I started this journey 34 years ago at my parents' kitchen table, where I mortgaged their home in order to build what would later become WADL-TV. I could not have selected a better successor of my legacy than Mission Broadcasting."

The transaction, subject to regulatory and other customary approvals, is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

About Mission Broadcasting, Inc

Mission Broadcasting is led by Nancie J. Smith, Chairwoman, and majority shareholder. The privately held company currently owns twenty-nine television stations in twenty-six U.S. DMAs. Mission's portfolio includes ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont.

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