WSIL -- WSIL TV will soon be under new ownership. Quincy Media, Inc. is acquiring the station.
The Federal Communications Commission needs to approve the move, and the change of ownership is expected to happen in January. Mel Wheeler, Inc. has owned WSIL since 1983. QMI owns other TV and radio stations around the country as well two newspapers.
"The station under the leadership of Steve and Bonnie Wheeler has been very involved in the communities it serves and we intend to continue that tradition and expand upon it," said QMI President and CEO Ralph Oakley.
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Quincy (IL) Media Inc. (QMI), is acquiring WSIL-TV, the ABC affiliate serving southern Illinois. QMI also owns a television station, radio stations and a newspaper in Quincy as well as television stations in Peoria and Rockford.
The acquisition is subject to approval of the Federal Communications Commission with the expectation the ownership change will occur in January 2019.
The station is being acquired from Mel Wheeler, Inc. who has owned the station since 1983. The acquisition also includes KPOB-TV, a satellite station of WSIL located in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
“We are absolutely thrilled to acquire WSIL which will be our fourth station in Illinois,” said Ralph M. Oakley, President/CEO of Quincy Media, Inc. “The station under the leadership of Steve and Bonnie Wheeler has been very involved in the communities it serves and we intend to continue that tradition and expand upon it.”
“We serve a great deal of the state and our footprint will allow us to provide even greater services to the region. For example, we recently broadcast a Gubernatorial debate from Quincy between Bruce Rauner and JB Pritzker. It was the only downstate debate and it ran on all our stations.”
QMI also recently announced its acquisition of KVOA, the NBC affiliate in Tucson, Arizona. The acquisition of WSIL and KVOA expands the company’s footprint into 16 television markets, mostly in the Midwest.
