Fox 8 Won't Be Acquired By Sinclair Broadcasting

CLEVELAND, OH — Controversial media company the Sinclair Broadcast Group will not acquire Fox 8. Speculation about a possible purchase of the Cleveland-based TV station was running rampant when it was announced Sinclair was attempting to acquire WJW's parent-company Tribune Media Company.

Fox 8, also known as WJW, is one of a handful of local TV stations that will instead be sold by either Sinclair or Tribune Media Company in an attempt to encourage the FCC to approve the acquisition. WJW does not currently have a buyer.

Fox 8 has frequently been the No. 1 watched local news station for Northeast Ohioans. The station has produced several well-known local personalities, including Dick Goddard, Wilma Smith and Wayne Dawson. It's unclear how the Sinclair acquisition might have impacted the station.

The massive deal between Sinclair and Tribune, which would make Sinclair the largest owner of TV stations in the U.S., has faced questions and rebuke from media watchdog groups. Sinclair and Tribune announced they were going to sell of nearly two dozen local TV stations in a bid to get the deal approved. Fox 8 is one of the stations being sold.

According to Variety, Sinclair expects the deal will close near the end of this quarter.

"After a very robust divestiture process, with strong interest from many parties, we have achieved healthy multiples on the stations we are divesting," Chris Ripley, president and CEO of Sinclair, said in a statement. "While we continue to believe that we had a strong and supportable rationale for not having to divest stations, we are happy to announce this significant step forward in our plan to create a leading broadcast platform with local focus and national reach."

Sinclair is already one of the largest TV broadcasting companies in the country. The company was roundly criticized earlier this month after dozens of videos showed anchors from its TV stations reciting the same, robotic, media-bashing script.

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