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Sinclair, Tribune Close to Merger Deal


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The only thing Fox could do in retaliation is pull a mass disaffiliation with all Sinclair stations, with or without replacement affiliates in place. It would be a nuclear option that devastates both companies.

 

I don’t see Sinclair screwing over Fox like that, though. They need each other to help facilitate this charade of a merger, more than even we think.

 

I'm not so sure.

 

I did some math. Let's say Sinclair plays hardball and FOX pulls their affiliations. That's 15.8% of the country suddenly without their FOX station, including Green Bay. Post-Trib merger that number would be almost 30%, including a couple more football markets. You bet Congress would get involved.

 

You'd either see the affiliation swap of all time, or FOX would cease to exist as a major broadcaster (which I frankly think they're preparing for anyway.) Sinclair would just...I dunno, make their orphans all Comet affils or something.

 

If this FCC and this administration Is as favorable to Sinclair as we would all like to believe, FOX needs them way more than the other way around. If this merger gets done, SInclair will have the production capability to create their own national network, which I also think is the endgame down the road. They will be fine. I'd feel different if they were all FOX affils--and Sinclair will be the largest holder of those for sure when all is said and done--but the company's diversified enough where I'm not sure it matters. ABC, for one, seems willing to play ball.

 

Now, if we were talking the FOX of 10, 12 years ago when they were regularly #1 in the ratings, I'd also feel different.

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Replacing network programming with a Comet or H&I or a daily strip talk show (if you recall the rumors of them talking to Bill O'Reilly a few months ago) wouldn't be that unheard of for Sinclair. I wouldn't call it a network per se, and Sinclair wouldn't, but that's really what it is.

 

But such a possibility also dovetails with the decline of new product on broadcast television. It's not an immediate exodus but you see it already with the big streaming providers already grabbing the eyes and ears of demographics across the board. Maybe that's what Fox is recognizing, and why they are slowly pulling out of traditional linear output with the Disney deal (which also strengthens Disney's digital output substantially).

 

Back in 2008, Jeff Zucker mentioned that there could be a possibility that NBC pulls up stakes and leaves OTA for cable. (This was around the same time that the GE budget cuts hampered their O&O division and crippled the network.) It's less likely that NBC will be the first to bail now, thanks to Comcast steering the network and their stations around... but it's going to happen soon to one network.

 

Yes, Sinclair can fill the holes of the loss of a network if that happens, and probably won't miss a beat. The Bill O'Reilly rumors suggested they have thought of this possibility. But Sinclair also needs to bolster their digital holdings and digital presence, or they risk buying into a modern-day horse-and-buggy universe. They need to launch a Hulu or Netflix of their own that can offer their local news output and subchannel programming on demand.

 

And... there's nothing that says Fox won't still eventually do an deal with an ION (or a Sinclair) for operations or infrastructure, even after they buy said 6-10 stations. Maybe those added stations makes the group even more palatable for such a deal, and that's really the intent.

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Westword Denver is reporting that Rupert Murdoch might buy back FOX31, and at the same time, purchase CW2 (both Denver stations owned by Tribune). Looks like KWGN/KDVR might be side-by-side with WFLD FOX 32 and WPWR CW50, seeing that the Chicago duopoly is owned by FOX Television Stations.

 

http://www.westword.com/news/rupert-murdoch-dealing-with-sinclair-for-denver-tv-stations-fox31-and-cw2-9874239

 

moreover, KDVR might use Beyond, while KWGN retains Locals Only. Both music packages composed by Stephen Arnold Music

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You are right. Let's hope Sinclair would keep KOMO 4 and Univision Seattle and sell Q13 Fox and Joe TV to Fox Television Stations LLC.

 

Okay. We get this too.

 

Anyone who keeps repeating themselves in this thread is going to be thread banned.

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Westword Denver is reporting that Rupert Murdoch might buy back FOX31, and at the same time, purchase CW2 (both Denver stations owned by Tribune). Looks like KWGN/KDVR might be side-by-side with WFLD FOX 32 and WPWR CW50, seeing that the Chicago duopoly is owned by FOX Television Stations.

 

http://www.westword.com/news/rupert-murdoch-dealing-with-sinclair-for-denver-tv-stations-fox31-and-cw2-9874239

 

moreover, KDVR might use Beyond, while KWGN retains Locals Only. Both music packages composed by Stephen Arnold Music

 

If that's the case then look for Fox to do something similar with the Tribune duopoly in St Louis (KTVI/KPLR).

 

And a good article you posted. Really highlights the possibly irony in the former KDVR ND leaving the station as soon as the Sinclair deal was announced, only to see that station possibly be bought back by Fox instead.

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If that's the case then look for Fox to do something similar with the Tribune duopoly in St Louis (KTVI/KPLR).

 

And a good article you posted. Really highlights the possibly irony in the former KDVR ND leaving the station as soon as the Sinclair deal was announced, only to see that station possibly be bought back by Fox instead.

I'm starting to think that the former KDVR/KWGN's News Director's decision to leave when this deal was announced was a bad decision, if he knew that KDVR/KWGN was getting sold off to someone else NOT named Sinclair, he would've never left KDVR in the first place. Oh well, he bettted on Sinclair keeping KDVR/KWGN and it's looking like he lost that bet.

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Westword Denver is reporting that Rupert Murdoch might buy back FOX31, and at the same time, purchase CW2 (both Denver stations owned by Tribune). Looks like KWGN/KDVR might be side-by-side with WFLD FOX 32 and WPWR CW50, seeing that the Chicago duopoly is owned by FOX Television Stations.

 

http://www.westword.com/news/rupert-murdoch-dealing-with-sinclair-for-denver-tv-stations-fox31-and-cw2-9874239

Of course the story was headlined with, “Company ripped by John Oliver.” For a long-ago monologue that, to the best of my knowledge, had no follow-up and didn’t so much as to move the needle on anything beyond well-established talking points.

 

IMG_1552.JPG

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I'm starting to think that the former KDVR/KWGN's News Director's decision to leave when this deal was announced was a bad decision, if he knew that KDVR/KWGN was getting sold off to someone else NOT named Sinclair, he would've never left KDVR in the first place. Oh well, he bettted on Sinclair keeping KDVR/KWGN and it's looking like he lost that bet.

Think for a second: Is FTS really that much better than Sinclair?

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I wish that would happen. I do hope Fox would assume ownership of Q13 and Joe TV--soon to be Fox 13 and Fox 13 Plus, respectively.

 

From a branding standpoint, wouldn't it just make more sense to just go to Q13 Fox full time like KTVU did when they went to "KTVU Fox 2" all the time right after Fox bought them?

 

And would it make any sense to rebrand JoeTV which I believe is actually a fairly popular TV station in Seattle because of it's strong syndicated lineup?

 

I'm starting to think that the former KDVR/KWGN's News Director's decision to leave when this deal was announced was a bad decision, if he knew that KDVR/KWGN was getting sold off to someone else NOT named Sinclair, he would've never left KDVR in the first place. Oh well, he bettted on Sinclair keeping KDVR/KWGN and it's looking like he lost that bet.

 

To be fair, she left the Tribune duopoly right after the merger was announced. Little did any of us know at the time that there was a less than 100% chance that KDVR and KWGN would not be acquired by Sinclair, especially since Denver wasn't a conflict market.

 

Plus I think KMGH gave her an opportunity to turn around a news operation that many consider to be the weakest in Denver (although still decent).

 

Think for a second: Is FTS really that much better than Sinclair?

 

Yes.

 

Outside of the superficial things (graphics, music, station logo, branding, etc.), Fox is actually pretty hands off with their O&O's. And they certainly don't force their affiliates to air content similar to what Sinclair forces their affiliates to air.

 

In addition, Fox actually invests a lot into their stations and actually work to make their stations more competitive in their respective markets.

 

KTVU is a good example. Cox ran an excellent news operation but because of the 49ers, Fox wanted the station. Cox finally gave in and sold it to Fox. People were worried that KTVU would change for the worse, but outside of the logo changing and the name change (now called KTVU Fox 2), not much has changed content wise. Instead, they have expanded their newscasts to new time slots (4pm and 11pm).

 

Anyone who actually lives in the Bay Area is welcome to tell me if I'm wrong in this observation.

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https://www.armstrongwilliams.com/brands

 

Good luck with that. Our best friends want to shell out WRLH, KOKH/KOCB, KZJO, WGNT, and KDNL. They're also trying to acquire WCWG/Greensboro (which is already being sold to Hearst) to try to play the quadropoly game.

 

Keep dreaming!

 

I just reverted the Wikipedia articles on those stations, saying the editor used unsourced content. Now you're saying it might be true?

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I just reverted the Wikipedia articles on those stations, saying the editor used unsourced content. Now you're saying it might be true?

 

I remember earlier, Williams was bitching about the fact that the DOJ wasn't going to allow him to do this because of regulations so he may have posted this before then. He may (and most likely WILL) attempt to do this but I don't see it happening, especially in Oklahoma City, Seattle, STL and sure as hell, not Greensboro. He had to have announced this before Hearst announced their acquisition of the station in question and we just didn't catch it.

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https://www.armstrongwilliams.com/brands

 

Good luck with that. Our best friends want to shell out WRLH, KOKH/KOCB, KZJO, WGNT, and KDNL. They're also trying to acquire WCWG/Greensboro (which is already being sold to Hearst) to try to play the quadropoly game.

 

Keep dreaming!

 

where does he get the idea that he's getting WCWG? Hearst is trying to buy that station

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I'm surprised that Armstrong Williams hasn't gone after, and Sinclair has wished to dump markets like Minneapolis and Raleigh/Durham. You would have thought that Raleigh would have been ditched long ago. From the cursed WRDC to the self-inflicted damage of WLFL (by losing FOX to WRAZ). It's like they're holding out for ABC to sell WTVD....

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