Atlanta, GA (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Our news partners officially have a new owner.

The new parent company of WAND-TV, Gray Media, says it’s purchase of stations owned by Block Communications has been completed.

That’s a total of five television stations in Kentucky and Ohio being sold, along with WAND in Decatur.

“We are the nation’s largest owner of top-rated local television stations and digital assets serving 120 full-power television markets that collectively reach approximately 37% of US television households,” said a Gray news release.

Television station ownership groups have been busy in the last year or so, selling or trading stations.

Just last week, Gray announced its purchase of stations owned by Allen Media Group is also final, which includes two more station in Illinois — in Carbondale and Rockford.

It recently also settled a dispute with Dish Network regarding retransmission of stations — something Dish has disputed before with other broadcast companies.

In late-March, the then-owned or WICS and WRSP in Springfield, Rincon Broadcasting, transferred its station portfolio to a group called Community News Media LLC.  Rincon hadn’t owned NewsChannel 20 and Fox Illinois for very long.

Currently, the owner of WCIA Channel 3 and WCIX Channel 49, Nexstar Media Group, is in a legal dispute over its purchase of stations owned by Tegna, amid concerns that ownership rules were being circumvented.  The company also recently laid off staff and air talent in some of its largest markets.

Springfield is part of a television market also covering the Champaign and Decatur areas.