Michigan Media Merge: WILX and FOX 47 Are Now Under the Same Ownership

If you grew up in Mid-Michigan, your local TV choices were pretty straightforward. Turn to WILX TV 10 for NBC, WSYM for FOX, WLNS-TV for CBS, and WLAJ-TV for ABC. Four stations, four logos, and four teams trying to be the first to tell you school was canceled.

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Now, two of those stations are officially under the same corporate roof, with a stamp of approval from the muckety-mucks in Washington, D.C.

Gray Media Officially Buys FOX 47 in Lansing

Gray Media, owner of WILX-TV, has completed its purchase of WSM-TV after receiving Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval. The sale closed May 15, 2026, bringing together two stations that have shared a long and occasionally complicated history.

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WILX and FOX 47 Have Worked Together Before

From 2004 through 2020, WILX produced FOX 47's local newscasts before WSYM rebuilt its own independent newsroom. So this isn't exactly a first date. It's more like two exes realizing they still have the same group of friends and a perfectly good studio building they can share.

WILX Plans to Expand Its American Road Studios

Gray says the move will combine two of the Lansing-Jackson market's strongest news operations and create more opportunities for viewers. The company also plans on expanding its current studios on American Road in Lansing to house the larger operation.

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Lansing’s TV Landscape Continues to Consolidate

Gray's official purchase of WSYM will further consolidate area news, as WLAJ's newsroom and broadcast operations (owned by Mission Broadcasting, Inc.) have been operated and housed by Nexstar Media Group's WLNS under a shared services agreement.