President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized the Federal Communications Commission for not approving Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc’s $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media, calling it “disgraceful” compared with the FCC’s approval several years ago of a deal involving the NBC television network, according to Reuters.
So sad and unfair that the FCC wouldn’t approve the Sinclair Broadcast merger with Tribune. This would have been a great and much needed Conservative voice for and of the People,” Trump said in a post on Twitter.
Trump’s broadside was an unusual attack on a decision of an independent federal agency that makes merger decisions based on whether they in the public interest.
So sad and unfair that the FCC wouldn’t approve the Sinclair Broadcast merger with Tribune. This would have been a great and much needed Conservative voice for and of the People. Liberal Fake News NBC and Comcast gets approved, much bigger, but not Sinclair. Disgraceful!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2018
Comcast at the time was a provider of video and residential internet service. NBC Universal included the Universal movie studio as well as NBC and other assets.
Sinclair, the largest U.S. local broadcast station owner, won the backing of Trump in a tweet in April but has come under scrutiny by others.
Advocacy group Free Press has said that Sinclair forces stations to “air pro-Trump propaganda” - a charge it denies.
Last week, the Republican-led FCC said it would not approve the acquisition by Sinclair and sent the matter to a hearing before an administrative law, saying that Sinclair would maintain control in practice of some stations it had agreed to divest, even if not in name.
The FCC’s order dealt a serious and potentially fatal blow to Sinclair’s bid to acquire Tribune. Tribune did not immediately comment on Tuesday.
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