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Exclusive: Sinclair approaches Tribune Media about possible deal - sources

Ccook55 said:
Doubtful. I think ABC is quite happy with WPLG/ch. 10. They’ll fight tooth and nail than move from there.
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Plus, ABC has been on WPLG since Day 1. No way that bond is breaking.
 
Looks like FCC has put the shot clock back on for the Sinclair & Tribune merger comments will be open come June. I didn't know that Standard Media can now own the 9 stations they bought I read that somewhere but I think Standard will wait until the merger is a done deal.
 
I LOVE this quote from The Hill article
The @FCC just asked for public comment on the Sinclair merger, speeding the way for regulatory approval,” Rosenworcel wrote. “But the @FCC is still waiting on a court decision about how many stations one company can own. No way it should rush ahead now before the court acts. The rule of law matters.
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Apparently not according to Conservatives of today.
 
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https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opini...s-becoming-truest-heir-roger-ailes-ncna881146

An Editorial on How Sinclair is compared to Roger Ailes is at play here.

This April, a reporter for a Sinclair-owned TV station revealed that she was fired for refusing to add conservative talking-points to a climate change story. This followed weeks of controversy, including revelations that the media giant had forced local news anchors to read identical scripts denouncing, in Trump-like fashion, “fake” news.

More recently, in a speech this May, Hillary Clinton specifically called out Sinclair (alongside Fox News) for "delivering propaganda."

Sinclair Broadcasting Group, the largest owner of local television stations in America, is still not a household name like, for example, Fox News. Yet it may be the truest heir to former Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes’s original vision of conservative news programming. Long before cable news, Ailes — who died in 2017 — had been dreaming up ways to inject local news programs with a conservative spin.

Many Americans are only now discovering Sinclair Broadcasting’s conservative politics, and few may know which stations the company actually owns. Because Sinclair is now trying to buy Tribune Broadcasting, though, it is ever more likely to be their local station.

Millions more Americans tune into local news than national news — and trust local news far more. Local stations are also rarely tarred with an ideological brush — unlike Fox News, which is known for its conservative bent.

If the Federal Communications Commission approves Sinclair’s expansion plan, it would own TV stations able to reach around 70 percent of U.S. households. (The FCC appears unlikely to block the deal.) That’s an astounding market share, and the reason Sinclair Broadcasting may well end up being more powerful than Fox.
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It will be a battle to see who will out-conservative the other. Just like political ads.
 
Ccook55 said:
Doubtful. I think ABC is quite happy with WPLG/ch. 10. They’ll fight tooth and nail than move from there.
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OTOH though ABC COULD use WPLG as leverage to convince Graham to affiliate WJXT 4 in Jacksonville with the network as I'm sure they'd LOVE to get off Tegna owned WJXX 25 (Which is paired with NBC affiliate WTLV 12) though

Pat
 
Dunno about that. WJXT became an independent because they didn't want to pay CBS's carriage fees. Not sure what ABC's carriage fees are like, but WJXT would probably (to coin an old commercial slogan) fight than switch.
 
https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/trio-of-state-ags-petition-to-block-sinclair-tribune-deal

Update on the Sinclair talks

The attorneys general of Illinois, Iowa (stations from both states are involved in the deal) and Rhode Island have petitioned the FCC to deny the Sinclair-Tribune merger, which would give Sinclair over 200 TV stations.

Pointing out that they are the chief consumer protection and law enforcement officers in their state, the AGs argue that since Sinclair is already the largest local news provider in the country, allowing it to get much bigger will impede the ability of struggling stations to create more opportunities for diversity, localism or competition.



Sinclair is spinning some stations off, but also striking sidecar deals with some of them. It also wants to keep two of the top four stations in two markets per new FCC rules that allow those previously prohibited combos to be granted on a case-by-case basis.

That is not good enough for the trio of AGs.

"The Commission should grant this Petition to Deny despite the divestiture plan because Applicants’ divestiture plan is indefinite, does not demonstrate that the divested stations will not be controlled by Sinclair, and withholds the answers to key questions of control of the divested stations from the public and from the Commission."
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This whole localism is a joke to deny the merger TV station groups aren't local sure they have HQ in different state and own over a 100 plus stations in the country that isn't local that ship has sailed since the start of TV.
 
JeeperOne said:
OTOH though ABC COULD use WPLG as leverage to convince Graham to affiliate WJXT 4 in Jacksonville with the network as I'm sure they'd LOVE to get off Tegna owned WJXX 25 (Which is paired with NBC affiliate WTLV 12) though

Pat
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WPLG is no longer owned by Graham, but by.....Berkshire Hathaway! I don't think Graham LMA's it, but 10 does use their graphics.

G
 
https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/sinclair-tribune-deal-does-not-violate-fcc-rules

Another take on the Sinclair/Tribune Deal

Sinclair was vigorously defending its proposal to buy Tribune's stations against all comers Thursday (July 5), responding to critics by telling the FCC that it is being asked to make decisions based on subjective disagreements over Sinclair content or views of a marketplace that no longer exists.

In its reply to various petitions to deny the deal at the FCC, Sinclair said that critics seemed to think it was still a world with seven TV channels and phones are just phones rather than video access devices.

Among those seeking to block the deal are Dish, the American Cable Association, NCTA: The Internet & Television Association, the American Television Alliance, Communications Workers of America, Free Press, National Hispanic Media Association, Independent Programmers, Newsmax, and the ACLU.

Related: Groups Petition FCC To Delay Sinclair-Tribune Decision

Contrary to the "sky is falling" rhetoric from its opponents, its not falling, Sinclair said.

"Sinclair’s acquisition of Tribune will not radically disrupt the media marketplace or impede viewers’ access to quality local news, nor will it violate any FCC rules or policies."

And while critics have said Sinclair is trying to skirt the spirit of the FCC rules through sidecar deals that give it continuing relationships with some of the stations it is spinning off, Sinclair says: "The proposed divestitures, including those that contain sharing arrangements, are consistent with the rules and with other transactions previously approved by the Commission."
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Wake me when this damn deal actually goes through...or not.
 
https://www.buzzfeed.com/stevenperl...017_06_06_COPY_01&utm_medium=email#.vw6vJOqY1

Here is an update on the Rumored Sinclair Network in Question.

Sinclair Broadcast Group is planning to launch a streaming TV service this year that could create a new competitor for Fox News.

The free streaming app, called STIRR, would house a 24/7 TV channel featuring local news and national programming, according to sources familiar with the project and a trademark application. It would also offer a variety of other live and on-demand programming, from TV shows to movies to sports.

A spokesperson for Sinclair declined to comment.

Sinclair, the largest owner of local TV stations in the nation, has long had its sights on creating a national television news platform, but the company has for years denied ambitions to launch a typical cable network rivaling Fox News.

Still, the company has in recent months explored the creation of a new block of conservative programming. Politico reported that Sinclair has spoken with former Fox News staffers, including Greta Van Susteren, though it’s unclear if those discussions are for STIRR specifically.

Fox News, for its part, has been working on its own offering. As BuzzFeed News reported last year, the network will release a paid streaming service that will feature exclusive content from Fox personalities like Tomi Lahren. The forthcoming product is called Fox Nation and expected to launch in the fourth quarter.

Fox and Sinclair are among the many media companies, big and small, that have been pushing into the streaming space in recent years.

Sinclair’s play, which could change in the future, comes as the company awaits the approval of its proposed $3.9 billion takeover of Tribune Media, which would give the company 215 TV stations in 102 local markets and expand Sinclair's enormous local news reach. The merger process has dragged on amid pressure from regulators for Sinclair to divest stations to comply with media ownership laws.
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