President Donald Trump criticized the decision of a government regulator to block the expansion of a television station operator who has supported conservative voices.
Sinclair operates 192 television stations across the country and a merger with Tribune, which operates 42 stations, would make it cover nearly 72 percent of the population. Under FCC rules, TV operators have to limit their coverage to 39 to 78 percent of the population, depending on what frequencies they broadcast. They also can’t own two stations ranked among the top four in an area. That’s why Sinclair has to divest some stations for the merger to go through.
The FCC was concerned about some of these divestments since they would transfer the stations to companies that have close ties with Sinclair, which “raises significant questions as to whether those proposed divestitures were in fact ‘sham’ transactions,” the order reads.
Sinclair argued that the FCC has approved similar arrangements in the past. For years, TV operators have used the method of selling the broadcasting license to a closely tied company while still de facto controlling the programming and advertising of the station.
Rather than killing the deal, the FCC ordered a hearing before an administrative judge. But such “referrals have typically meant a de facto merger death sentence,” FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly said in a statement appended to the order.
O'Rielly supported the order after the commission approved his proposal to have the judge promptly announce a complete schedule for the proceedings, including a date for completion.
“I realize that many merger applicants will be unable to withstand the market pressures to end transactions long before any such timelines are established or exhausted,” O'Rielly said.
Most of Sinclair’s stations are primarily affiliated with one of the “big four” networks: ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox.
Smith has donated tens of thousands to campaigns of both parties, though, more to Republicans.
NBC reaches about 90 percent of the population through its affiliates, about 20 of which are owned or operated by Sinclair.
Local TV stations have had a tough time adapting to the changing media landscape that pits them against cable and internet content providers. They’ve managed to save costs by merging and sharing content and resources, but many smaller players have eventually sold their operations to large operators such as Sinclair.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, appointed to the FCC by Obama and to chairmanship by Trump, have been relaxing regulations on local TV stations, allowing more mergers and leaner operations.