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Exclusive: Sinclair approaches Tribune Media about possible deal - sources

At least it would fill a hour instead of reruns of two and half men and / or infomicals. Remember WPIX was the NYC home of Pro Wrestling USA, GLOW, UWF, NWA / WCW and briefly WWE.
 
Many stations will be sold off looks like Sinclair & Tribune are in a lot of markets if this merger happens. FOX17 would be sold can't see Sinclair selling WWMT which is higher profile than FOX17 plus being Top 4 station and Nexstar owning 2 full power TV stations in Wood TV & WOTV from Media General merger a couple of months ago.
 
Megatron said:
Many stations will be sold off looks like Sinclair & Tribune are in a lot of markets if this merger happens. FOX17 would be sold can't see Sinclair selling WWMT which is higher profile than FOX17 plus being Top 4 station and Nexstar owning 2 full power TV stations in Wood TV & WOTV from Media General merger a couple of months ago.
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would anyone even want KDNL?
 
If that's the case one can see a situation taking place in Milwaukee, where Sinclair will keep WITI but might have to spin off or turn in the license of either WVTV or WCGV. The FCC will make sure of that.
 
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ways-to-thwart-possible-sinclair-tribune-deal

Heres an update and its getting crazy here.

21st Century Fox Inc., the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, is weighing options to help thwart a potential takeover of Tribune Media Co. by Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., people familiar with the situation said.

Fox is deliberating over possible choices after having been approached by several parties, which are interested in acquiring Tribune directly or as part of a consortium, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. One of the parties that has talked with Fox is activist investor Starboard Value LP, which owned a 4.4 percent stake in Tribune as of March 15.




While Sinclair recently approached Tribune about a possible merger, the companies aren’t close to a deal, other people familiar with the matter said. Nexstar Media Group Inc. is also weighing a bid, although it hasn’t hired a financial adviser yet, the people said. Nexstar has a history of laying in wait for a potential deal, striking an agreement to acquire Media General Inc. in 2015 only after Media General had announced plans to merge with Meredith Corp.

While some of the parties eyeing Tribune are interested in teaming up with Fox for a bid, Fox doesn’t want to acquire the broadcaster, the people said. Murdoch’s company may ultimately decide not to intervene at all, the people said.

A combination of Tribune and Sinclair, two of the country’s biggest TV station owners, would give Sinclair control of 28 percent of the Fox-affiliated channels that Murdoch’s company doesn’t own directly, the people said. That would give Sinclair a stronger negotiating hand in future talks with Fox about how to split fees from cable providers, the people said.

Several large media companies, including CBS Corp. and Sinclair, are up against U.S. rules that limit the reach of station owners to 39 percent of the country and need reform from the Federal Communications Commission if they want to expand geographically.

Fox holds some sway over Tribune’s destiny because it has to consent to the transfer of the company’s affiliate agreements to a new owner in the event of a takeover, two of the people said.
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RadioPatrol said:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ways-to-thwart-possible-sinclair-tribune-deal

Heres an update and its getting crazy here.
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Now this could get a bit messy here, especially in our market(Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA)

WBRE and WYOU are both owned by Nexstar, while WNEP is owned by Tribune. If for some reason Nexstar wins the bid and acquires Tribune, then we could eventually see all major network affiliates owned by a single company. WNEP is considered a dominant station in the area because they produced more newscasts than any other stations in my area, and also produces their 10 o'clock newscast over on their digital sub-channel which is affiliated with Antenna TV. If this happens, then there would be some layoffs over on WNEP, and maybe their newscasts will possibly be moved to WBRE/WYOU's studios in Wilkes-Barre.

As for Sinclair, they currently own WOLF-TV, our local Fox station, as well as WSWB(CW) and WQMY(MyNet). If Sinclair were to go ahead on the buyout of Tribune, we would eventually see them having to spin off WNEP to keep within their FCC media ownership limits. Otherwise, WNEP will probably move to WOLF-TV's studios outside of Wilkes-Barre, but here's the downside. WOLF-TV's recently relaunched 10 O'clock newscasts, is outsourced from Indiana, with local reporters and a meteorlogist, while WNEP always has their news department, and produced nearly 10 hours of news each day than WBRE and WYOU. As with the Nexstar scenario, there, too might be some downsizing.

And finally for the least likely scenario, FOX taking over Tribune, including WNEP. Should they buy Tribune, then I think WNEP would become a FOX station, and Sinclair will have to make WOLF-TV an ABC affiliate. Then WNEP's subchannel will eventually become the new home for MyNetworkTV.

So I guess this could eventually end up becoming one of the largest media acquisitions in the 21st century since the 1994 TV realignment.
 
Nexstar is throwing red herrings at us. There's no way Nexstar is going to get some of the Tribune stations. Wouldn't Nexstar have to lay low and let the purchase or any debt from the media general be cleared first. The only reasonable solution would be for Sinclair to turn in some of their licenses to the FCC is they can't find a buyer, send some stations to trusts or have third party license holders like Cunningham, Deerfield, Mission, Dream catcher, and Marshall say they will cut the contracts off from Sinclair or Tribune since they are license holders and have groups like Hearst, Gray, Scripps and Raycom take over the News Staff and affiliation contract's
 
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...id-aiming-to-buy-tribune-for-high-30s-a-share

Here is an update on the Sinclair/tribune talks

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. is aiming to acquire Tribune Media Co., owner of TV stations in big media markets including New York, Chicago and Miami, for a per-share price in the high $30s, according to people familiar with the matter.

Sinclair is working to finalize a deal on or before the same day Tribune reports first-quarter earnings, which is slated for the week of May 8, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Shares of Chicago-based Tribune closed at $37.70 on Tuesday, giving it a market capitalization of about $3.3 billion.

Shares of Tribune jumped as much as 6.1 percent to $40.01 in New York, while Sinclair rose 5.1 percent.

Final terms of a transaction between Sinclair and Tribune haven’t been agreed upon, and a deal could still fall apart, the people said. A Tribune spokesman declined to comment. Sinclair didn’t respond to requests for comment.

With more friendly rules governing ownership concentration in broadcasting expected from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Tribune may have options beyond Sinclair. Other buyers are interested in Tribune, according to one person familiar with the matter. As earlier reported by Bloomberg, Nexstar Media Group Inc. has considered a bid for Tribune. Nexstar has a history of laying in wait for a potential deal, striking an agreement to acquire Media General Inc. in 2015 only after Media General had announced plans to merge with Meredith Corp.

Tribune, which owns 42 local-TV stations and the WGN America cable network, could even emerge as a buyer itself in what is expected to be a media merger spree in 2017.

But a theoretical marriage between Sinclair and Tribune, two of the largest local TV station owners in the U.S., hangs on a vote Thursday by the FCC to restore the so-called UHF discount -- which would make it possible for the combined entity to stay under a cap that limits coverage of the country by a single station owner to 39 percent.
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