FCC Scrutinizes Tactic That Spurs Broadcast Consolidation

Sinclair Broadcast Group has agreed to buy eight TV stations from Allbritton Communications Co. for $985 million. But the Federal Communications Commission is questioning Sinclair's plan to use "sidecar companies" in order to purchase the TV stations and skirt the FCC rules "governing the number of stations a broadcaster can own in a particular market," The Wall Street Journal reports. The move by the regulator is "an unusual level of scrutiny for a tactic that has helped fuel broadcast-industry consolidation," The Journal also reports. Among other things, the FCC asked Sinclair to show its sidecar companies are "financially independent and aren't controlled by Sinclair," The Journal further reports.