FCC extends Sinclair-Tribune merger comment period until Nov. 2
Mike Snider | USA Today | October 18, 2017
The Federal Communications Commission is extending the comment period on Sinclair Broadcasting’s $4 billion merger with Tribune Media Co., to allow for more parties to weigh in.
The Hunt Valley, Md.-based Sinclair is the largest U.S. broadcaster with 173 stations and would grow to 200-plus stations under the merger, announced in May.
Sinclair filed comments with the FCC earlier this month and the agency added two weeks of time (until Nov. 2) for public comment on the transaction. At that point, the FCC will restart its 180-day “shot clock,” the standard time period in which it attempts to have completed reviews of transactions. That would push the FCC’s complete review of the merger to mid-February.
“In the interest of a complete record, we are establishing an additional opportunity for comment,” the FCC said on its website. “The Commission has a strong interest in ensuring a full and complete record upon which to base its decision in this proceeding.”
The FCC had asked Sinclair to give additional information about how the merger would benefit the public. The broadcaster said the merger would allow it to expand local coverage, increase original content and have a better chance of acquiring programming, as well as compete better for national advertising.
Several consumer, TV and tech groups oppose the merger, saying it would put too much power in the hands of a single broadcaster. A combined Sinclair-Tribune company would surpass the federally-mandated maximum reach of 39% of national TV homes. With the deal, Sinclair has said its reach would grow to 72% of U.S. homes across 108 markets including 39 of the top 50.
Sinclair said it would need to sell broadcast licenses in at least two markets to meet regulatory approval. The Department of Justice, which is also reviewing the merger, might require the divesting of some licenses, the company said.
The expanded broadcaster would own two of the top four affiliates in 10 of the 14 markets where Sinclair and Tribune currently operate stations on their own — a violation of the FCC’s television ownership rules, opponents say.
Back in April, the FCC loosened TV ownership rules by reinstating the so-called UHF discount, which allows broadcasters to count UHF stations as having only half the reach of VHF channels. Chairman Ajit Pai has said he may support the eventual elimination of the UHF discount, but as part of an overall review of the ownership cap.
“It’s also critical, of course, for our media ownership rules to match the modern marketplace,” Pai said in April at a speech before the National Association of Broadcasters. “So going forward, we’re going to have a much more fact-based discussion about where our media ownership regulations rules are and where they should be.”
Opponents hope the extended comment period is a sign that the FCC is taking serious consideration of the merger. “It’s clear that this merger is not in the public’s interest and the deal fails to meet the FCC’s own rules on a host of issues,” said Karl Frisch, executive director of Allied Progress, a group opposing the merger.
But Sinclair said in a statement, “we think the announcement speaks for itself, that the FCC is seeking to compile a complete record and is offering commenters two extra weeks to review and comment on our … response.”