ACA, Heritage Broadcasting Lobby Against Sinclair/Tribune
The FCC can’t process Sinclair buying Tribune until terms and buyers of all the related divestitures are known, said the American Cable Association in a meeting Thursday with Media Bureau staff, recounted a filing posted Monday in docket 17-179. Under…
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recently amended terms, Sinclair won’t temporarily hold ownership over any to-be-divested Tribune stations, ACA said. ACA has said even a temporary transfer to Sinclair pending a divestiture could activate after-acquired clauses (see 1803130042) in some retransmission consent contracts. ACA and bureau staff discussed whether the commission will request data and information from the parties seeking to acquire the divested stations. In a letter to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel posted Monday, Heritage Broadcasting of Michigan CEO Peter Iacobelli said Sinclair/Tribune would have disastrous effects on localism and retrans: “This merger will result in the overwhelming anti-competitive market environment.”