The Sinclair Merger Is Officially Dead. And Now Sinclair Is Getting Sued.
Less than a month after the Federal Communications Commission announced it would place the potential merger between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media in front of an administrative judge for review, Tribune Media has withdrawn from the negotiations. To add insult to injury, the company is now suing the giant conservative media organization for breach of contract, noting that Sinclair’s negotiations with the government had been “unnecessarily aggressive and protracted.”
In a statement provided to the Washington Post, the Tribune pointed directly to Sinclair’s divestment plan, which had been rejected by the FCC, as rationale for the collapse, saying it “posed a high risk of rejection and delay—all in derogation of Sinclair’s contractual obligations.” Today’s action puts what appears to be an end to the drawn-out and acrimonious merger that would have placed Sinclair’s pro-Trump content in 72 percent of American homes.
