McGraw-Hill sells TV stations to Scripps

US media conglomerate McGraw-Hill said Monday it had agreed to sell nine television stations to media company E.W. Scripps for $212million in cash Four of the television stations being sold to Scripps -- in Denver, San Diego, Bakersfield and Indianapolis -- are affiliated with the ABC television network. The other five -- in Denver, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, San Diego and Bakersfield -- are affliated with the Spanish-langauge Azteca America. "Thisis a terrific opportunity to enter some of America's most dynamic media markets and tap into the growing Spanish-language marketplace at a very attractive price," Scripps president and chief executive Rich Boehne said. "These stations came up for sale at a good time for Scripps," Boehne said in a statement. "Through this acquisition, we now have the opportunity to extend our local news strategies into markets with big appetites for community-changing journalism," he said. The sale is part of a restructuring of McGraw-Hill announced last month which includes spinning off rating agency Standard & Poor's into a separate business.