It also operates cable network WGN America, Tribune Studios and WGN-Radio.
Tribune's portfolio includes 14 Fox affiliates, 12 CW affiliates, six CBS affiliates, three ABC affiliates, two NBC affiliates, three MyNetworkTV affiliates and two independent stations.
Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.'s corporate offices are in Hunt Valley, Md. The Baltimore-based, conservative-leaning company also picks up some $2.7 billion in Tribune Media's debt. Sinclair may be required to sell certain stations in markets where it now owns stations.
Sinclair expects to close the purchase during the fourth quarter of 2017.
"This is a transformational acquisition for SINCLAIR that will open up a myriad of opportunities for the company", said SINCLAIR President and CEO CHRIS RIPLEY. Sinclair already owns 173 television stations around the country and will add 42 more if the Tribune Media acquisition is approved.
The deal makes the largest owner of local TV stations even bigger, giving Sinclair the presence it covets in top markets such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Adding Tribune's stations will also expand Sinclair's reach into major cities where it didn't have a presence before, such as NY and Chicago.
Ripley said if it has to sell any stations, he is believes that they will be "highly sought" by other broadcasters.
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Sinclair has been one of the more prolific corporate acquirers in consumer-facing media since the start of 2010, completing 22 deals-the same number as Google parent company Alphabet over the same period, according to the PitchBook Platform.
The sale is pending approval by the Federal Communications Commission. Tribune Media shares closed Friday at $40.29.
The FCC's vote reversed a 2016 decision by the agency during the Obama administration. That disappeared with the switch to digital TV in 2009.
Sinclair beat out another local station ownership group, Nexstar, in the Tribune auction process.
Tribune reports that the company owns 42 television stations in 33 markets. Sinclair is one of the largest operators of local TV news stations in the US. The so-called UHF discount allows stations to count just 50 percent of its audience from UHF stations toward the audience cap.
The FCC's reversal of a rule about how market reach of UHF channels is calculated could keep the market share of a combined Sinclair and Tribune Media low enough that a deal is workable with some divestitures, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
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