The sale of Chicago-based Trib Media to Sinclair Broadcasting continues to be processed in the political sausage making process known as regulatory review in Washington sin any input from Chicago. B & C Magazine (Broadcasting and Cable) recently reported that Sinclair had informed the FCC that they intend to divest sufficient stations to conform to the FCC’s ownership cap rule of no more than 39 percent of national coverage. Still, they were not specific as to what stations would be sold and when.
There is also a vague FCC rule requiring a “public interest” be demonstrated for a merger to be approved and Sinclair’s position on public interest conformity is just as vague in specifics. According to B & C, Sinclair committed to capital investments and increased programming but again was not very specific. B & C noted that in previous purchases of local television stations, Sinclair has invested money in capital equipment upgrades. So, Sinclair may be willing to invest money in Trib stations for new sets and even increased staff for local news reporting; all good but it does nothing for Chicago which is losing its only remaining national media company.
However, Sinclair’s statement on original program production should have piqued some interest in Chicago. Sinclair told the FCC the merger was in the public interest because: “the transaction will expand Sinclair’s congruous stations from 20% of the country to 53%, Sinclair will be able to reach a critical mass that can significantly reduce the financial risk of producing original content…” Currently neither Sinclair nor Trib Media produce much programming for their station groups which obtain original programming from the various existing networks (mostly NBC, Fox and the CW) or syndicators. Trib Media does produce original entertainment programs for distribution over its cable network but none of it is produced in Chicago.
If Sinclair made a firm and irrevocable commitment to program production in Chicago, it would be a big boast to our almost non-existent program production industry and would be worth supporting this merger. Yet again, no one in Chicago with political clout seems to have noticed the opportunity that presented itself.
If you query the offices of our two Senators as to what their positions are, you will get a quick response from Senator Duckworth that she is concerned and monitoring the situation. Senator Durbin’s office didn’t make a response at all. So an opportunity will probably be squandered again.
For more about Chicago’s involvement in the television production industry, please read Chicago’s Radio & Television Industry History.
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