Sinclair-Tribune Deal: 23 TV Stations To Be Sold Under New Plan

NEW YORK, NY — Sinclair Broadcast Group has revealed nearly two dozen TV stations currently owned by it or Tribune Media Co. that it would sell in order to receive federal approval to acquire Tribune. Stations that would be sold in the $3.9 billion merger include WGN-TV in Chicago, KDAF in Dallas, KIAH in Houston, KCPQ in Seattle and WSFL-TV in Miami.

While most of the stations have buyers, several remain to be announced. These include KDVR-TV in Denver, WJW-TV in Cleveland and KPLR-TV in St. Louis. The complete list of stations owned by either Sinclair or Tribune that would be sold are listed below.

The massive deal, which would make the company the largest owner of TV stations in the U.S., has faced questions and rebuke from media watchdog groups.

In February, the Baltimore-area company said it would sell popular stations WPIX-TV in New York and WGN-TV in Chicago so as to be in compliance with federal law. Under the proposal, the stations would still be operated by Sinclair. But the Justice Department and the FCC, which are reviewing the deal, balked.

So on Tuesday, Sinclair revealed its revised plan. Under the revised proposal, Sinclair would still sell WGN-TV — and continue to operate it — but would not sell WPIX-TV.

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.

• WGN-TV
  • Market: Chicago, Illinois
  • Buyer: WGN-TV, LLC
  • Current owner: Tribune
• KDAF
  • Market: Dallas, Texas
  • Buyer: Cunningham
  • Current owner: Tribune

• KIAH
  • Market: Houston, Texas
  • Current owner: Tribune
  • Buyer: Cunningham

• KCPQ
  • Market: Seattle, Washington
  • Buyer: TBA
  • Current owner: Tribune
• KUNS
  • Market: Seattle, Washington
  • Buyer: Howard Stirk
  • Current owner: Sinclair
• WSFL-TV
  • Market: Miami, Florida
  • Buyer: TBA
  • Current owner: Tribune
• KDVR
  • Market: Denver, Colorado
  • Buyer: TBA
  • Current owner: Tribune
• WJW
  • Market: Cleveland, Ohio
  • Buyer: TBA
  • Current owner: Tribune
• KTXL
  • Market: Sacramento, California
  • Buyer: TBA
  • Current owner: Tribune
• KPLR-TV
  • Market: St. Louis, Missouri
  • Buyer: Meredith
  • Current owner: Tribune
• KSWB-TV
  • Market: San Diego, California
  • Buyer: TBA
  • Current owner: Tribune
• KSTU
  • Market: Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Buyer: TBA
  • Current owner: Tribune
• KMYU
  • Market: Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Buyer: Howard Stirk
  • Current owner: Tribune
• KOKH
  • Market: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • Buyer: Standard Media
  • Current owner: Sinclair
• KAU-TV
  • Market: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • Buyer: Howard Stirk
  • Current owner: Tribune
• WXMI
  • Market: Grand Rapids, Michigan
  • Buyer: Standard Media
  • Current owner: Tribune

• WPMT
  • Market: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
  • Buyer: Standard Media
  • Current owner: Tribune
• WXLV
  • Market: Greensboro, North Carolina
  • Buyer: Standard Media
  • Current owner: Sinclair
• WRLH
  • Richmond, Virginia
  • Buyer: Standard Media
  • Current owner: Sinclair
• WOLF
  • Market: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
  • Buyer: Standard Media
  • Current owner: Sinclair
• WQMY
  • Market: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
  • Buyer: Standard Media
  • Current owner: Sinclair
• WSWB
  • Market: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
  • Buyer: Standard Media
  • Current owner: Sinclair
• KDSM
  • Market: Des Moines, Iowa
  • Buyer: Standard Media
  • Current owner: Sinclair

Photo credit: William Thomas Cain/Getty Images