The Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest owner of local TV stations, serving 81 markets, wants to expand by buying<br />Tribune Media’s TV stations, many of which are in larger markets, like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.<br />Sinclair Is Said to Be Near a Deal for Tribune Media -<br />By MICHAEL J. de la MERCEDMAY 7, 2017<br />The Sinclair Broadcast Group may not have much name recognition outside its home base near Baltimore,<br />but the company is poised to control more than a third of the country’s local television stations.<br />Under the Smiths’ control, the company has spent more than $7 billion on acquisitions, leading David<br />D. Smith, the longtime chairman, to once remark, “We’re forever expanding — like the universe.”<br />Beyond giving Sinclair greater negotiating power, a deal for Tribune would increase the reach of the company’s<br />news operation, which has promoted a mostly conservative agenda since the presidency of George W. Bush.<br />Buying Tribune Media, once the Tribune empire’s television arm, would give Sinclair control of properties like WGN in Chicago and WPIX in New York.<br />TV stations owned by Sinclair<br />TV stations owned by Tribune<br />Growth would help the 46-year-old Sinclair gain more negotiating leverage in the television industry, which has consolidated rapidly in recent years.
