FCC Should Require More Divestiture Info From Sinclair, ACA Says
The FCC should require Sinclair to provide more information about its relationships with the companies it's divesting in connection with the deal to buy Tribune, said the American Cable Association in a letter to the FCC filed in docket 17-179…
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Thursday. ACA opposes Sinclair/Tribune. The letter accuses Sinclair of withholding more than 250 documents about continuing agreements and disclosures connected with its divestitures. “At least some of those documents appear to contemplate an ongoing commercial relationship between Sinclair and the divested station’s new owner or to give Sinclair rights to purchase certain stations in the future,” ACA said. The FCC shouldn't let Sinclair “hide the ball in this manner,” ACA said. “No one knows what arrangements have been reached in any of these documents, and Sinclair has unilaterally decided the Commission need not review them.” The FCC can't allow the merger to proceed without examining the documents because of its unprecedented size, ACA said. The agency already has gone to “extraordinary lengths” to “defend itself from charges of partiality,” ACA said, citing a recent blog post by Commissioner Mike O'Rielly (see 1805220034). If Sinclair's arrangements with divestiture partners allow for joint retransmission consent negotiations “they would increase the already considerable harm the transaction will cause,” ACA said.