E.W. Scripps Co., the former owner of the Rocky Mountain News, is returning to the Denver media market with its announced purchase of KMGH-Channel 7 on Monday.

Scripps agreed to buy KMGH and the rest of the McGraw-Hill broadcast group for $212 million. The deal includes ABC affiliates in Denver, Indianapolis, San Diego and Bakersfield, Calif. Scripps, which already owns six ABC affiliates, will be the largest independent operator of ABC stations.

The five other stations involved in the transaction — KZSD in San Diego, KZKC in Bakersfield, KZCO in Denver, KZFC in Fort Collins and KZCS in Colorado Springs — are low-power stations affiliated with the Spanish- language network Azteca America.

The sale must pass regulatory hurdles before being finalized, likely by early next year.

In announcing the deal, Rich Boehne, Scripps president and chief executive, cited the Spanish-language assets, the attractive price and low interest rates.

“We’re eager to be in Denver,” Boehne said by phone. “Obviously it’s a market we know really well, a market where we love being in the news business.”

Regarding KMGH, Boehne said, “They have a good reputation, especially their investigative reporting team.”

For their part, Channel 7 newsroom staffers were surprised and elated at the news. “This is fantastic. Scripps has a deep commitment to broadcasting,” 7News director Jeff Harris said.

“Their latest initiative is a renewed commitment to investigative (reporting) throughout their station groups.”

On a call with analysts, Scripps executives acknowledged that the loss of Oprah Winfrey’s show on the ABC stations had been taken into account in the purchase price. The nine McGraw-Hill stations reach approximately 3 percent of U.S. households and generated revenue in 2010 of $97 million.

In a prepared statement, Harold McGraw III, chief executive of the seller, said, “Scripps is a respected media company that will provide an excellent new home for our broadcasting stations and allow them to deepen their ties and value in the markets they serve.”

Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com