<\/p>\n
Television station owner Sinclair Inc. has taken an equity stake in fellow broadcaster, E.W. Scripps, signaling its intent to become a behemoth in the shrinking field.<\/p>\n
Sinclair disclosed its interest in Scripps, which owns stations in Fresno, Bakersfield, Buffalo, N.Y., and Billings, Mont., in a Securities & Exchange Commission filing Monday. Baltimore-based Sinclair, known for its conservative political bent<\/a>, said it has acquired about 8% of Scripps\u2019 equity by buying some of its publicly traded shares.<\/p>\n Sinclair disclosed that it has had \u201cconstructive discussions with [Scripps] for several months regarding a potential combination of the two companies.\u201d <\/p>\n No deal has been reached.<\/p>\n Cincinnati-based Scripps, in a statement, suggested that it wasn\u2019t interested in a tie-up with Sinclair, saying the Scripps board and management instead were \u201cfocused on driving value for all of the company\u2019s shareholders through the continued execution of its strategic plan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe board and management are aligned on doing only what is in the best interest of all of the company\u2019s shareholders as well as its employees and the many communities and audiences it serves across the United States,\u201d Scripps said.<\/p>\n Sinclair appears to be putting pressure on Scripps by making the stock purchases and the public disclosure. Scripps stock jumped more than 34% to around $4 a share mid-day Monday. The company is valued at about $363 million. <\/p>\n Sinclair shares also got a bounce, gaining about 6.5% to just above $17. The company\u2019s market value is $1.2 billion.<\/p>\n Television station owners are hoping that President Trump and his appointments to the Federal Communications Commission will lift the government-imposed cap on broadcast ownership. Currently, stations are restricted from owning outlets that reach more than 39% of the U.S. population. <\/p>\n Sinclair currently owns or operates 185 television stations in 85 markets, according to its website<\/a>. <\/p>\n FCC Chairman Brendan Carr<\/a> has signaled a willingness to undertake a massive deregulation. The anticipated push has prompted a flurry of deals among broadcasters, who have seen their advertisers scatter and audiences decline<\/a> as more consumers get their news through social media.<\/p>\n Sinclair, in its filing, made a nod to the changing political winds in Washington.<\/p>\n \u201cRecent industry consolidation and intensifying competition reinforce [Sinclair\u2019s] view that further scale in the broadcast television industry is essential to address secular headwinds and compete effectively with larger-scale big-tech and big-media players, as well as major broadcast groups,\u201d Sinclair wrote.<\/p>\n In September, Sinclair prodded the Walt Disney Co. to punish late night host Jimmy Kimmel<\/a> after the host made ill-timed comments about the alleged gunman who was later arrested and charged with the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah<\/a>. Sinclair owns several ABC affiliate stations and dropped \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d for more than a week.<\/p>\n Sinclair demanded that Kimmel make a \u201cmeaningful personal donation\u201d to Kirk\u2019s political organization, Turning Point USA.<\/p>\n But Sinclair\u2019s campaign crumbled<\/a> after Disney\u2019s brass returned Kimmel to his late night perch<\/a> \u2014 without making concessions that Sinclair had demanded.<\/p>\n