• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Exclusive: Sinclair approaches Tribune Media about possible deal - sources

I wonder if most Tribune stations are going to lose their affiliates from this merger if they are in a market with a Sinclair-owned station. Because this also happened when Allbritton merged with Sinclair, where WCFT, WJSU and WCIV all had to lose their ABC affiliates post-merger for "subchannel" affiliates (networks that are usually in subchannels, such as H&I, Heartland, etc.), instead of keeping their network affiliates (ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.)
 
When will it be official WPIX becomes a Sinclair Broadcasting station so wrestling fans in the NYC area can watch Ring of Honor Wrestling?
 
TVCOOL said:
When will it be official WPIX becomes a Sinclair Broadcasting station so wrestling fans in the NYC area can watch Ring of Honor Wrestling?
Click to expand...

Not until end of the year that is when Sinclair said when the deal gets done plus they have to divest 10 stations in the overlap areas as well.
 
nomadcowatbk said:
probably, but how much of a fanbase does ROH have?
Click to expand...

New York is a big wrestling market, it's where most of the diehard wrestling fans are (known to the wrestling world as "Smarks" or Smart Marks for short, in wrestling lingo). these fans will show up to any wrestling event to do anything they want and cheer who they want regardless on if they are babyfaces (good guys/heroes) or heels (bad guys/villains).

the biggest wrestling cities in the US are New York City/northeastern New Jersey metro area (this area is consider WWE's home territory in the old territory days of wrestling), Philadelphia, Orlando (due to GFW Impact Wrestling (the wrestling company formerly known as TNA Wrestling) and WWE's developmental brand NXT and the WWE Performance Center), Southern California (due to being well, Hollywood), Pittsburgh (cause it's the home of Kurt Angle), Chicago (it's a known hot bed for wrestling talent as it's given us the Road Warriors, and most recently, Phil "CM Punk" Brooks), Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex (because of the Von Erich family), Houston (famously gave us The Undertaker and Halem Heat aka the Huffman brothers Stevie Ray and Booker T) and Boston.
 
Some analysis on the spinoffs that will be required as part of this deal:

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/105285/spin-offs-likely-in-sinclairtribune-deal

Editorial lamenting the deal:

http://www.stltoday.com/opinion/col...cle_096f5b2b-7406-53b3-817b-06fe0b79180b.html

This seems to be a canned editorial as almost identical ones have appeared in other markets where Tribune stations will be taken over. This Des Moines editorial is an example:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...-tribune-media-bad-news-des-moines/439884001/

I'm guessing Sinclair will have to propose the stations to sell or spin off before the FCC will consider ruling. I couldn't find any articles with information on the timeline anticipated for approval.
 
Will_H_69_9 said:
New York is a big wrestling market, it's where most of the diehard wrestling fans are (known to the wrestling world as "Smarks" or Smart Marks for short, in wrestling lingo). these fans will show up to any wrestling event to do anything they want and cheer who they want regardless on if they are babyfaces (good guys/heroes) or heels (bad guys/villains).

the biggest wrestling cities in the US are New York City/northeastern New Jersey metro area (this area is consider WWE's home territory in the old territory days of wrestling),
Click to expand...

Really? I have been living in northeastern NJ for 20 years and this is the first I have heard of this being a wrestling area. I have not met a single person interested in wrestling around here.
 
http://www.robertfeder.com/2017/07/...ibune-media-execs-sinclair-merger/#more-14806

The corporate bosses of Sinclair Broadcast Group are claiming their acquisition of Chicago-based Tribune Media — creating a television juggernaut with 233 stations in 108 markets — isn’t just good for their company and their shareholders. They say it also will serve the public interest.

But the people who’ll benefit most from the deal may be executives of Tribune Media.

In a filing this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Sinclair disclosed plans for generous severance payments to top Tribune execs when they exit the company after the merger is completed. They include:

Edward Lazarus, executive vice president and general counsel: $9,681,435
Chandler Bigelow, executive vice president and chief financial officer: $9,248,157
Larry Wert, president broadcast media: $7,760,566

Edward Lazarus
Gary Weitman, senior vice president of corporate relations at Tribune Media, declined to comment on the disclosure.

Now that an FCC friendly to the politically connected Sinclair has relaxed its ownership rules and a federal appeals court has cleared the way, the $6.6 billion deal for Tribune (including $3.9 billion in cash and the assumption of $2.7 billion in debt) appears to be going full speed ahead.


Chandler Bigelow
Despite objections raised by citizens groups that consolidation on such a vast scale would harm local broadcasting and journalism, Sinclair has argued that the acquisition “will increase the merged company’s capability to serve the public by increasing its operational efficiencies.”

For a company as notoriously cheap as Sinclair, “increasing its operational efficiencies” is simply another way of saying mass firings. According to the SEC filing this week, Sinclair expects to realize “$266 million of synergies” — presumably through layoffs and other cutbacks.


Larry Wert
“Sinclair’s business model is going into a market, buying multiple stations, moving them all to one facility, and firing three quarters of the staff to get as much work with the fewest employees,” one union official told Media Matters.

“Our employees are very nervous about the situation,” said another. “It is a combination of political influence and that Sinclair is extremely anti-union in dealing with its employees. What is it going to mean?”

For the parent company of “Chicago’s Very Own” WGN-Channel 9 and WGN AM 720, the dismantling of Tribune Media will mark the final chapter in the destruction of what was the city’s most iconic and powerful media brand for nearly a century.

Some trace the beginning of the end to the merger of Tribune Co. with Times Mirror Co., publisher of the Los Angeles Times, in 2000. Others point to the disastrous ownership of the company under Sam Zell in 2007, leading to four years of bankruptcy and the split of Tribune Media and Tribune Publishing (now tronc).
Click to expand...
Update the payouts Tribune will get in the deal.
 
ansky212 said:
Really? I have been living in northeastern NJ for 20 years and this is the first I have heard of this being a wrestling area. I have not met a single person interested in wrestling around here.
Click to expand...

probably a high number of fans, but a smaller number percentage wise, doubt they've heard of ROH
 
ansky212 said:
Really? I have been living in northeastern NJ for 20 years and this is the first I have heard of this being a wrestling area. I have not met a single person interested in wrestling around here.
Click to expand...

have you met anyone interested in Rutgers athletics? the high numbers of NYC cable subscribers got them into the B10 even though the NYC area is pretty much a wasteland for college football (and college basketball outside of the tournament), how much of a following does ROH have when it's scheduled in graveyard slots
 
crainbebo said:
Sinclair tripling Boris Epshteyn's commentaries to nine a week. Boris is an ex-Trump spokesperson and has been known to lean (you guessed it) right-wing in his commentaries. BTW, it's all 'must-run' by Sinclair.
http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/sinclair-boris-epshteyn-increase-segments-donald-trump-1202490923/
Click to expand...

Boris Epshteyn Well he must be Sinclair's most prized Conservative pundit though. Well Sinclair is increasing the number of must run segments for another reason for Boris Epshteyn its to make a big splash for Los Angeles and New York once the Tribune deal is finalized.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2017/07/10/boris-epshteyn-sinclair-broadcasting-240359

Even while under fire for requiring its outlets to run conservative content, Sinclair Broadcast Group is increasing the "must-run" segments across its affiliates featuring former Trump White House official Boris Epshteyn to nine times a week, the company confirmed on Monday.

The move comes as the company is seeking to dramatically expand its holdings by purchasing Tribune Media for $3.9 billion, which would make it the largest local television operator in the country, with more than 200 stations.

But Sinclair's unusual practice of requiring all its stations to run reports dictated from the corporate offices has been flagged by critics of the Tribune acquisition and even become a subject of late-night TV ribbing by HBO's John Oliver.

"Should this Tribune acquisition go through, there are going to be even more good journalists having to see their hard work placed alongside terror-desk nonsense, just as there will be more unsuspecting audience members who will get a heaping dose of Sinclair content, possibly without realizing that," Oliver said, referring to one of Sinclair's required segments, Terrorism Alert Desk. "You should find out who owns your local station and bear that in mind as you watch."

Epshteyn was hired by Sinclair as chief political analyst in April after a short ride in the White House overseeing the choice of Trump surrogates for TV appearances.

Now, on Sinclair, he is offering his own political commentary.

His "Bottom Line with Boris" segments already air three times a week, but will now triple in frequency, featuring a mix of his political commentary as well as "talk backs" with local stations and interviews with members of Congress. The segments will have a “billboard,” meaning they’re sponsored, but will not be sponsored content, a Sinclair spokesperson said.

Epshteyn’s segments are “must runs,” so all the Sinclair stations across the country will air them along with their other “must-run” segments including conservative commentary from Mark Hyman and the Terrorism Alert Desk segments. Epshteyn reliably parrots the White House's point of view on most issues. For example, he claimed last month that former FBI Director James Comey's testimony on Capitol Hill was more damaging to Hillary Clinton and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch than to the president.

"Contrary to widespread expectations, we actually learned much more about the president's opponents and his critics from Comey's testimony that about any issue involving the president himself," Epshteyn said.

Sinclair declined to comment on what went into the decision to add more segments from Epshteyn.

But the company defended its practice of requiring stations to run certain types of content, even in the wake of Oliver's ridiculing.

"While we appreciate John Oliver's unique brand of humor, we stand by our approach to sharing content among our stations to supplement the excellent work our newsroom staffs do every day in service to their communities," Sinclair said in a statement. Epshteyn also released a segment responding to Oliver.

The Smith family, which has owned the Maryland-based Sinclair since its founding in 1971, is known for its conservative views.
Click to expand...
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom