Report: Fox to Buy Tribune Stations In 6 Markets

21st Century Fox is closing in on an agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group to buy at least six TV stations, a transaction that stems from Sinclair’s pending $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media.

According to Variety, the Tribune stations expected to be sold to Fox are: Seattle (KCPQ), Denver (KDVR), Salt Lake (KSTU), Sacramento (KTXL), Cleveland (WJW), and Miami (WSFL).deal.  The pact also ensures the Sinclair will lock in long-term Fox Broadcasting Co. affiliation deals for dozens of other stations it owns that are currently Fox affiliates.

The sale is contingent on Sinclair closing its acquisition of Tribune Media. The regulatory review process on the Sinclair-Tribune merger is coming to a head at the FCC and Justice Department now that Sinclair has filed its plan for station divestitures. The Tribune acquisition will put Sinclair well over the limit of the FCC’s TV station ownership rules, forcing some divestitures.

Sinclair surprised the industry on Wednesday by unveiling its decision to sell Tribune’s WPIX-TV New York and WGN-TV Chicago — albeit with a caveat that Sinclair hopes will allow the company to still operate the New York and Chicago stations through a contract arrangement with the new owner. Sinclair has a buyer (or buyers) lined up for WPIX and WGN but did not disclose them in Wednesday’s FCC filing. Fox would not be able to buy those stations because it already owns two outlets in both New York and Chicago, and FCC rules bar a single entity from owning more than two top-rated stations in the same market.

Four of the six Tribune stations that Fox aims to acquire are in markets with NFL teams — a priority for Fox in its hunt for additional TV stations. Fox has doubled down on its investment in NFL programming through the megabucks five-year deal it struck late last month for rights to “Thursday Night Football” games starting next year.