Attempted acquisition of Tribune Media by Sinclair Broadcast Group

Attempted acquisition of Tribune Media by Sinclair Broadcast Group

Initiator	Sinclair Broadcast Group
Target	Tribune Media
Type	Full acquisition
Cost	US$3.9 billion
Initiated	May 8, 2017
Canceled	August 9, 2018

The attempted acquisition of Tribune Media by Sinclair Broadcast Group was a proposed broadcast media transaction between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media. Formally announced on May 8, 2017, the $3.9 billion deal would have resulted in Sinclair owning—or having operational control over—stations available in 72% of all households with a television set in the United States.

The deal received criticism from multiple special interest groups and Democratic and Republican politicians who felt that the deal could give Sinclair an effective oligopoly on television broadcasting. Sinclair's prior track record of running public affairs shows and commentary segments in local newscasts among their station group supportive of conservative platforms induced concern over possible imperiled editorial independence among the Tribune stations, with said programming potentially used by Sinclair for favoritism of Republican presidential and congressional candidates in swing states. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai also encountered backlash over the deal; prior to the merger announcement, Pai reversed several decades-old policies pertaining to broadcast ownership—along with policies implemented by prior chairman Tom Wheeler—leading some to speculate that Pai instituted those changes to benefit Sinclair.

The purchase attempt was ultimately terminated by Tribune Media on August 9, 2018, after emerging scrutiny over proposed divestitures by Sinclair, prompting the FCC to put the deal up for review by an administrative law judge and Pai to publicly reject it. Several months after the deal's termination, Tribune Media was successfully acquired by Nexstar Media Group.

This unsuccessful acquisition occurred concurrently with two successful major media mergers: The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox and AT&T's purchase of Time Warner.^[1]