by Claire Atkinson
Sinclair Broadcasting, which could soon own more U.S. television stations than any other company, has a plan to create a near-national network of local stations delivering the news with a conservative bent. And thanks to some help from federal officials, that plan is inching closer to reality.
Sinclair has bid $3.9 billion to acquire the Tribune Company, which would put it in control of 223 TV stations, by far the most of any broadcasting company. The Federal Communications Commission has taken several steps — and is contemplating others — that can help that merger, including the following:
The FCC has done away with a rule that requires broadcasters to keep a local studio presence in each market. That would reduce Sinclair’s costs and allow it to consolidate news studios.
It reinstituted an old rule that allowed UHF stations to count as having smaller coverage than VHF stations (a concept that is largely obsolete in the digital TV era). That would make it easier for Sinclair to meet the commission’s test that no company should reach more than 39 percent of all TV households; without the change, Sinclair would reach 72 percent of households. (That decision has been challenged, and is now before a federal appeals court.)
Click here for the full article.
Source: NBC News
Sinclair has bid $3.9 billion to acquire the Tribune Company, which would put it in control of 223 TV stations, by far the most of any broadcasting company. The Federal Communications Commission has taken several steps — and is contemplating others — that can help that merger, including the following:
The FCC has done away with a rule that requires broadcasters to keep a local studio presence in each market. That would reduce Sinclair’s costs and allow it to consolidate news studios.
It reinstituted an old rule that allowed UHF stations to count as having smaller coverage than VHF stations (a concept that is largely obsolete in the digital TV era). That would make it easier for Sinclair to meet the commission’s test that no company should reach more than 39 percent of all TV households; without the change, Sinclair would reach 72 percent of households. (That decision has been challenged, and is now before a federal appeals court.)
Click here for the full article.
Source: NBC News
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