President Donald Trump slammed the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for failing to approve Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.’s acquisition of Tribune Media Co., calling the move “sad and unfair.”
Ajit Pai, a Republican who was appointed chairman of the FCC by Trump, had questioned the legality of the $3.9 billion deal, which would have involved spinning off TV stations in order to meet ownership limits. The commission then voted unanimously to send the issue to an administrative hearing judge, something that can delay or even kill a deal.
“Liberal Fake News NBC and Comcast gets approved, much bigger, but not Sinclair,” Trump said in a tweet Tuesday night. “Disgraceful!”
The Maryland-based Sinclair is a politically conservative broadcaster and seen as friendly to the president. Trump has previously praised the company, saying it’s superior to AT&T Inc.’s CNN and Comcast Corp.’s NBC.
“This would have been a great and much needed Conservative voice for and of the People,” Trump said, adding that Comcast Corp. was allowed to acquire NBC.
Earlier: Tribune Mulls Next Steps After FCC Accuses Sinclair of Deception
Representatives for Sinclair and the FCC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment left after business hours, while Tribune declined to comment.
Tribune last week said it was “assessing all of our option” regarding the Sinclair merger in light of the FCC order for a hearing that the Chicago-based broadcaster termed “troubling.”
The FCC, using unusually harsh language, questioned Sinclair’s proposals to sell TV stations to meet national ownership limits and suggested the company had “attempted to skirt the commission’s broadcast ownership rules.”
For example, Sinclair proposed to sell Chicago’s WGN-TV at a below market price to an automobile executive with no previous broadcast experience. The agency also questioned ties between Sinclair, which is based in Maryland, and a buyer proposed for stations in Dallas and Houston.
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