On January 27, 2016, Media General announced that it would be acquired by Nexstar Broadcasting Group in a deal valued at $4.6 billion. Since Nexstar already owned WFXR and WWCW through satellite exemptions and the Roanoke-Lynchburg market had too few stations to permit a duopoly, on May 27, Nexstar announced that it would sell WSLS, along with WCWJ in Jacksonville, Florida, to the Graham Media Group for $120 million. The sale was approved by the Federal Communications Commission on January 11, 2017 and completed on January 17.