Twenty-First Century Fox has agreed to buy seven television stations from Sinclair Broadcast Group at a cost of $910 million, Reuters reports.
The deal allows Sinclair to acquire the regulatory approval it needs to complete its purchase of Tribune Media. For Fox, the buy grows its coverage to nearly half of all households in the United States and puts it in 19 of the top 20 television markets in the U.S.
Earlier this year, Sinclair gained attention for its decision to require the anchors at its stations to read a script during the news broadcast condemning “fake news” from larger national news stations. Many, including the anchors reading the scripts, felt like the move was pushing a pro-Trump agenda.
In April, President Trump tweeted his support for Sinclair Broadcasting and said it was “far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC, which is a total joke.” Most of Sinclair’s stations are CNN affiliates.
With 173 stations, Sinclair is the largest owner of local TV stations in the United States.
