Media Bureau Information Request Not Seen Changing Likely Approval of Sinclair/Tribune

The FCC Media Bureau request for more information on Sinclair buying Tribune isn’t a sign of increased scrutiny or hostility toward the deal at the agency (see 1709150041), industry analysts and even opponents of the transaction said in interviews Monday. The information request asked for specifics about many issues that have been raised by opposition group Coalition to Save Local Media (see 1708300053) but is seen to be motivated by procedural concerns rather than FCC agreement with critics of the deal, industry officials said.

“There’s lots of unanswered questions,” said former Commissioner Michael Copps, now a special adviser at Common Cause, and an opponent of the transaction. If the FCC hadn’t sought specific answers on the deal’s compliance with rules and public interest benefits, it would have been “blatant disregard” of commission responsibility, Copps said.

Copps and other members of the coalition have said Sinclair/Tribune should be denied, but Copps said the FCC’s request for specifics doesn’t make him “any more sanguine” about the chances of that happening. The agency is widely expected to OK the transaction. “The deal will be approved because the Republican majority views broadcasters as facing vastly more competition than they used to,” said Cowen analyst Paul Gallant, though he also said “there seems to be an edge to the bureau’s letter.” Sinclair and the bureau didn’t comment.

The unusual nature of Sinclair’s application -- which doesn’t identify any divestitures or a specific plan for fitting the deal within the bounds of the national ownership cap -- made an FCC request for additional information likely, said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Dan Kirkpatrick. It's “routine” for companies to file applications that are light on specifics about public interest benefits that are then followed up by the bureau, Kirkpatrick said. FCC bureaus “are generally conscientious about gathering information,” said Copps. Kirkpatrick said it's not unusual for the FCC to stop a deal’s 180-day shot-clock after sending an information request, but the agency's deal website indicates Sinclair/Tribune’s clock is still running and was at Day 74 Monday.

Formally requesting more information on ownership permutations may also be a way to handle the increased political scrutiny on the transaction, attorneys said. An extensive public record will help the FCC deflect criticisms about Sinclair’s perceived political leanings, and not pushing the buyer on the deal’s compliance with rules could hurt the commission in future litigation over the merger, attorneys said. The transaction is expected to end up in court, attorneys said.

The information request indicates the broadcasters’ initial filings were “lacking to an extent,” said Public Knowledge Policy Fellow Yosef Getachew. PK and several other entities asked the FCC to request more information immediately after Sinclair’s initial filings but were rebuffed (see 1708040002). Though Getachew praised the FCC for requesting more information on public interest benefits, questions about possible consequences for the post-incentive auction repacking “would have been nice,” he said. The information request did seek information on how the deal interacts with the ATSC 3.0 transition, seeking specifics on what sort of 3.0-compatible equipment and services Sinclair/Tribune will realize economies of scale on, and how the deal will make implementing the new standard “more efficient.”

Getachew said the additional information Sinclair will need to submit could bolster opponents' arguments. Data about controversial topics such as possible layoffs at Tribune stations or on retransmission consent leverage “probably will give ammunition to opponents to attack the deal again,” Gallant said.

Sinclair and Tribune’s responses to the information request are due Oct. 5.