Sinclair Broadcast Group (NASDAQ:SBGI) is seeing some pushback from the FCC as it pursues a sweeping $3.9B takeover of Tribune Media (NYSE:TRCO), the WSJ reports.
Sinclair shares have turned lower on the day, -1.2%. TRCO is down 1.4%.
Sinclair has planned to spin off Tribune-owned stations in New York and Chicago to fit under FCC ownership caps, but the potential new owners (and their closeness to Sinclair and its founder) are coming front and center as an issue.
The company has proposed to the FCC an agreement where it would operate the stations but not be the licensee -- a "sidecar" arrangement that looks to evade scrutiny over a TV station reach that covered 72% of the country.
Sources say in the case of the New York and Chicago stations, the FCC wants more distance between Sinclair and new ownership.
