Trump-friendly company buys rights to deliver local news to 70% of US households
Kind of a big deal. Next step on the Orwellian path to dystopia.
Trump-friendly company buys rights to deliver local news to 70% of US households
This week, Sinclair capitalized on the FCC’s new laissez-faire attitude, purchasing Tribune Media for $3.9 billion — and, thereby, claiming ownership of enough local television stations to reach 70 percent of American households. To have its deal finalized, Sinclair will need to secure further cooperation from the FCC. Currently, the regulator bars any one broadcaster from claiming greater than 39 percent market share. To stay under that cap, Sinclair may need to sell off its less desirable holdings. Or, maybe not: The FCC’s Republican chairman Ajit Pai has suggested that the 39 percent-limit could be raised.
Sinclair also secured the Tribune’s crown jewel, WGN America, a cable network that reaches 80 million homes, just 10 million fewer than Fox News. On a conference call with investors Monday, Sinclair executives said they would be shifting WGN away from “high-cost originals” (i.e. scripted dramas) and toward more “cost-effective originals.” That remark has fed speculation that Sinclair may try to refashion WGN into a Fox News competitor — an endeavor that could be launched with the aid of erstwhile Fox News star Bill O’Reilly and a few of red America’s other favorite (alleged) sex criminals.
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