The broadcaster is paying a 26 percent premium for its rival after the Trump administration relaxed a wave of regulations. Tribune gives Sinclair more heft to mount a challenge to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News.
.. With the addition of Tribune’s 42 TV stations, Sinclair will cover more than 70 percent of households in the United States. That will transform it into the largest local broadcast owner by far.
.. Longer term, the big question is whether Mr. Ripley is starting a ratings war with 21st Century Fox. Mr. Murdoch’s media conglomerate is embroiled in a series of sexual-harassment scandals that have troubled its United States news network, which has a conservative-leaning viewership.
.. The broadcaster already has a good relationship with the administration of President Trump; his adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, even said the Trump campaign had struck a deal with Sinclair for better coverage, according to Politico, which the company has denied.
.. Mr. Ripley also has a few former Fox stars he may woo, including those who left under a cloud — not least Bill O’Reilly.