Sinclair Thread incl. Tribune Merger

[dhads7161]

All media has their bias. A lot of people tend to turn the other cheek to media that's more liberal leaning than they do media that's conservative leaning. CNN gets much less shit for their presentation than Fox News does. The problem with the media is every network/station/broadcast group have their own agenda that we don't get honest news from anybody.

[famicommander]

US politics aren't complicated at all. Both parties love murdering brown people, though one pretends not to. And both love debasing the currency, raising taxes (directly or indirectly in the form of tariffs), and expanding welfare even though one pretends not to.

Any and all other issues are ancillary and only serve to divide and distract people. Warfare, welfare, and currency debasement are what has destroyed every major empire in the history of the world and neither party will ever stop doing any of those things.

Just... wow. I don't even know how to respond to a view so ridiculously cynical. So... do you think that police shootings of non-whites happen because police officers think politicians want them to do that, and that politicians get together behind close doors and have a good chuckle about it?

And all other issues are ancillary and only used to divide people? You really think these politicians actually don't have deeply held personal beliefs about the morality or immorality of things like abortion and the death penalty and gun control? That this is all some sort of scheme to take our attention away from... what, exactly?

I was more talking about how the US/UK/France/Germany/Russia have spent most of the last century blowing up the Middle East and redrawing maps at their whim.

And if you look at the history of the US since the Federal Reserve Act, it's pretty much all warfare, welfare, and currency debasement.

And no, I don't think politicians have deeply held beliefs. I think they're all thieves and liars who will say or do anything to get what they want.

It's not a direct, conscious scheme, it's just how the system works out. The only things everybody agrees on are warfare, welfare, and currency debasement.

[Big Red Machine]

US politics aren't complicated at all. Both parties love murdering brown people, though one pretends not to. And both love debasing the currency, raising taxes (directly or indirectly in the form of tariffs), and expanding welfare even though one pretends not to.

Any and all other issues are ancillary and only serve to divide and distract people. Warfare, welfare, and currency debasement are what has destroyed every major empire in the history of the world and neither party will ever stop doing any of those things.

Just... wow. I don't even know how to respond to a view so ridiculously cynical. So... do you think that police shootings of non-whites happen because police officers think politicians want them to do that, and that politicians get together behind close doors and have a good chuckle about it?

And all other issues are ancillary and only used to divide people? You really think these politicians actually don't have deeply held personal beliefs about the morality or immorality of things like abortion and the death penalty and gun control? That this is all some sort of scheme to take our attention away from... what, exactly?

And no, I don't think politicians have deeply held beliefs. I think they're all thieves and liars who will say or do anything to get what they want.

Then I really don't know what to say other than that I hope I never become as cynical as you.

[supersonic]

Observer:

Sinclair Broadcast Group will be selling 23 television stations to stay within the 39 percent of market penetration for television stations rule with te acquisition of Tribune Media stations. When the Tribune deal is completed, Sinclair would own 215 stations in 102 markets. Sinclair will pick up a number of key Tribune stations, notably KTLA in Los Angeles and WPIX in New York. While not certain, the belief is when the merger goes through, that ROH will start airing on those stations, which would be a huge boost in exposure. Among the stations that they are looking at selling would be stations in Seattle, Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City, Houston, Dallas, St. Louis, Cleveland San Diego, Denver and Miami. Sinclair is hoping to sell those stations but retain the operations of those stations as FCC rules regarding ownership allows for that sleight of hand

[The Dragon Saga]

Does any of that include WGN America can anyone confirm or deny? I'm more interested in what it could do for ROH to get on cable and potentially do a ECW-style national TV show and keep it separate from their syndicated show. It would essentially give them two hours of programming a week.

[Big Red Machine]

Does any of that include WGN America can anyone confirm or deny? I'm more interested in what it could do for ROH to get on cable and potentially do a ECW-style national TV show and keep it separate from their syndicated show. It would essentially give them two hours of programming a week.

Something middle of the week would probably work best.

[Laviemarg]

Does any of that include WGN America can anyone confirm or deny? I'm more interested in what it could do for ROH to get on cable and potentially do a ECW-style national TV show and keep it separate from their syndicated show. It would essentially give them two hours of programming a week.

WGN America will be in the deal. Cable networks have nothing to do with cap concerns that are holding up the deal. Rumors abound that it'll become a 'Fox News' type of station.

[supersonic]

Observer:

Even if Sinclair has to divest itself of WGN in Chicago, Tribune is willing to sell them WPWR-TV in that market, so in the long run, ROH would have television in Chicago

[Wilson]

Does any of that include WGN America can anyone confirm or deny? I'm more interested in what it could do for ROH to get on cable and potentially do a ECW-style national TV show and keep it separate from their syndicated show. It would essentially give them two hours of programming a week.

WGN America will be in the deal. Cable networks have nothing to do with cap concerns that are holding up the deal. Rumors abound that it'll become a 'Fox News' type of station.

https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/sinclai ... ews/363739

I've been familiar with the name for a while, but I didn't know that WGN America is essentially a channel for old sitcoms. Apparently Sinclair is making moves for Greta van Susteren and (dipshit asshole) Eric Bolling as a part of their newsy makeover.

[Laviemarg]

Observer:

Even if Sinclair has to divest itself of WGN in Chicago, Tribune is willing to sell them WPWR-TV in that market, so in the long run, ROH would have television in Chicago

I had tagged Dave on this. It would be FOX that would sell it, not Tribune (Dave made a mistake).

[Laviemarg]

FCC comment period will be through July 12. The deal will not close until after this date.

[dhads7161]

I asked this in random thoughts but since this thread has to do television rights and all this may be a good peice of thought here.

With WWE moving SmackDown to Fox, would that have any effect on ROH airing on the SBG owned Fox stations?

[famicommander]

No. The parent network (Fox) doesn't dictate to the affiliates (Sinclair Fox stations) what they can or cannot air in their own time.

[supersonic]

https://www.f4wonline.com/daily-updates ... out-261716

In major wrestling news since it involves ROH TV exposure, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he has serious concerns about the Sinclair Broadcasting merger with Tribune Media and that the agency would not approve it. They felt that they had an issue with Sinclair selling a number of stations but retaining control of those stations. The decision surprised a lot of people. Those opposing the merger have the votes to keep it from happening. Had the merger gone through, Sinclair would have owned 215 stations in 102 markets, and would reach 59 percent of the country. The FCC has ruled that one company can only have local stations covering 39 percent of the country, so they were selling 23 stations to keep under that number, but the deal means they would still control the stations they were selling. The merger not being approved blocks ROH from television in places like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles unless things are amended.

[famicommander]

Nonsense outdated rules.

ATT can buy Time Warner, Disney can buy Fox, Comcast can buy NBC, CBS and Viacom can merge and un-merge every 20 minutes. In the era of streaming services and cable TV, does it really matter which billionaire owns more local TV stations?

[The Dragon Saga]

As I've seen mentioned this doesn't mean the deal is over. Sinclair will appeal it and this will continue on.

[BurningHammer]

I think for the sake of media within the US, i hope this doesn't happen because as a broadcaster their directive and attitude towards news shouldm't be anywhere near being on a TV.

As an ROH fan though having as many eyes of the product would be great, if it isn't too be though so be it, ROH should just try and find an a cable channel independently really.

[SandsShifter]

I'm kinda shocked Sinclair fucked this up.

[Wilson]

Ajit Pai deals major setback to Sinclair/Tribune merger

by Jon Brodkin over at Ars Technica

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he won't approve the Sinclair/Tribune acquisition as it's currently structured, saying Sinclair's plans for divested stations would violate the law. Pai is recommending that the merger be reviewed by an administrative law judge, a move that could ultimately kill the deal.

Pai's decisions came after months of pressure from Democratic lawmakers, consumer advocacy groups, and industry lobby groups. Pai has been repeatedly accused of making regulatory changes that benefit Sinclair; the FCC's inspector general in February agreed to investigate whether Pai has improperly coordinated with Sinclair on rule changes.

[...]

Sending a merger review to an administrative law judge can spell doom for a transaction. AT&T gave up its attempt to buy T-Mobile USA in 2011 after the FCC threatened to refer the case to an administrative law judge, for example.

Politico described it as "a lengthy administrative process often viewed as a deal-killer."

"It's extremely rare for transactions to be sent to a hearing in the first place, much less for parties to fight it out and beat the FCC in that hearing," Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood said. "That's why analysts and investors rightly see today's news as potentially a fatal blow for this merger."

[...]

Consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge said that the Sinclair/Tribune deal "would have harmed the public interest in multiple ways." The combined company would have "unprecedented power" in channel carriage negotiations with cable operators, "giving rise to higher cable bills for consumers," Public Knowledge said.

"Additionally, the merger would have significantly reduced viewpoint diversity in broadcast television—essentially eliminating the local component of local broadcasting and replacing it with centralized editorial content, disguised with trusted local broadcasters," Public Knowledge said.

[famicommander]

So, basically, certain groups exercised their free speech in an effort to silence another group's free speech because the second group is saying things they don't like. And it worked.

So instead of a successful company owning the Tribune stations, they revert back to one that had already failed.