FCC Clears the Way for One Company to Own Both KATC and KADN in Lafayette

LAFAYETTE, La. — Federal regulators have given the final green light for one company to own two of Lafayette’s three major television stations, resetting the Acadiana broadcast landscape for the first time in nearly a decade.

According to The Advocate, the Federal Communications Commission has cleared the way for Atlanta-based Gray Media to own both KATC and KADN. Two separate transactions, finalized weeks apart, handed Gray the ABC, NBC, and Fox affiliates serving the Lafayette market. The NBC piece comes through KLAF, the low-power sister station packaged with KADN.

That leaves KLFY, the CBS affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group, as the only major Acadiana station outside Gray’s umbrella. Nexstar itself just absorbed Tegna in a $6.2 billion national deal that closed in March.

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The New Lafayette Media Landscape

Gray’s path to a Lafayette duopoly came in two parts.

The first was a station swap with The E.W. Scripps Company, announced in July 2025. Gray would receive KATC in Lafayette and WSYM in Lansing, Michigan. Scripps would get stations in Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, and Twin Falls. No cash changed hands. Each company picked up properties that paired with stations it already owned.

The second came a month later. Gray reached a separate $171 million agreement to buy 10 stations from Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, including KADN and the low-power KLAF in Lafayette. Allen Media has been working through about $928 million in debt, and the sale is part of its broader exit from the local TV business.

Both deals required FCC approval. The Allen Media transaction got that approval on March 23, 2026, after the agency rejected a petition to deny filed by DIRECTV. The Scripps swap was approved on April 28, 2026, with the Media Bureau dismissing objections from the American Television Alliance and NCTA – The Internet & Television Association.

With both transactions cleared, Gray now operates a station in every television market in Louisiana: WAFB in Baton Rouge, KPLC in Lake Charles, KNOE in Monroe, KSLA in Shreveport, WVUE in New Orleans, and KALB in Alexandria.

What a TV Duopoly Means for Acadiana

Federal rules historically barred a single company from owning two of the four highest-rated stations in the same market. That rule of thumb hit Lafayette directly in 2016, when Nexstar was forced to sell KADN and KLAF after buying KLFY. The FCC said the Lafayette market was not large enough for a duopoly.

That posture has changed. The Eighth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals vacated the longstanding “Top Four” rule in 2025. Under FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, the agency has been granting waivers in similar markets without much friction. The Lafayette approvals fit that pattern.

For viewers, the immediate result is that Gray controls KATC (ABC), KADN (Fox), and KLAF (NBC) under one corporate roof. KLFY, the CBS affiliate and the oldest TV station in the market, stays with Nexstar.

What Happens Next for Lafayette's Stations

Gray has said little about specific plans for the two newsrooms. Industry observers expect a combined operation.

The Current, Lafayette’s nonprofit news outlet, reported the deal would “more than likely” lead to one combined newsroom and revive what The Current called “the longstanding KATC vs. KLFY rivalry that dominated the Acadiana market for decades.” KADN’s News 15 newsroom is a relatively new operation and has been smaller than KATC’s.

Tom Poehler, vice president of TV with Delta Media and a former administrator at both KATC and KADN, told The Acadiana Advocate that consolidation is the likely outcome and that Gray and Nexstar are now positioned to compete with the largest tech platforms for advertising. Analysts have warned that staffing cuts and possible studio consolidation are on the table.

Gray spokesman Kevin Latek told the same publication that any consolidation discussion was premature and that company leadership planned to meet with employees at both stations after the deals closed.

Gray’s top executives have framed the transition as additive. Co-CEO Pat LaPlatney said in Gray’s announcement that the company anticipates expanding news staff and increasing the hours of live local newscasts at both stations after closing.

KATC meteorologist Rob Perillo, a fixture in Acadiana broadcasting, welcomed the change on social media when the Scripps swap was first announced, saying Gray ownership would mean “more resources, more coverage and more newscasts for Acadiana.”

Will This Impact Local News in Lafayette?

Three things are worth watching.

The first is whether the combined operation can unseat KLFY in the ratings. Channel 10 has long led the market, with KATC historically in second and KADN third. A merged Gray newsroom in Lafayette, drawing on the company’s resources at WAFB in Baton Rouge and KPLC in Lake Charles, could change that dynamic.

The second is what happens with on-air talent. KATC’s anchorless format pushed Marcelle Fontenot and Jim Hummel out of KATC in September 2023 after more than a decade as the station’s co-anchor team. They started at KADN in January 2024 and are now anchoring there under Gray’s ownership. Whether that anchor team eventually moves back to KATC or stays at KADN is one of the most-watched questions in local broadcasting.

The third is what Acadiana viewers pay. Both Gray and Nexstar negotiate retransmission fees with cable and satellite providers. Larger station groups have historically commanded higher fees, which get passed to subscribers. Eight state attorneys general and DIRECTV have already sued to block Nexstar’s national consolidation play on those exact grounds.

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Timeline for Lafayette Viewers

Day-to-day, nothing changes immediately for the home viewer. Channel numbers, network affiliations, and on-air programming on KATC, KADN, and KLAF continue as they were. The change is at the corporate level.

Decisions about combining newsrooms, staffing, and programming will roll out in the coming months. Gray has committed to expanding news investment in newly acquired markets, but the company has also acknowledged that operational decisions will follow conversations with current employees.

For viewers who care which corporate parent owns their evening news, the short version is this: outside of KLFY, every full-power TV station serving Acadiana now answers to Gray Media in Atlanta.