Confirming earlier reports of a deal, 21st Century Fox on Wednesday announced it will purchase seven TV stations from Sinclair Broadcast Group for about $910 million.
The deal will expand Fox Television Stations’ reach to nearly half of all U.S. households and includes key markets that align with Fox’s sports rights, the company said.
Fox will acquire the following stations: KCPQ in Seattle; WSFL in Miami; KDVR in Denver; WJW in Cleveland; KTXL in Sacramento; KSWB in San Diego; and SKTU in Salt Lake City.
“This transaction illustrates Fox’s commitment to local broadcasting and we are pleased to add these stations to our existing portfolio. With this acquisition, we will now compete in 19 of the top 20 markets and have a significantly larger presence in the west, which will enhance our already strong platform,” said Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy in a statement. “This expansion will further enrich our valuable alignments with the NFL, including our new Thursday Night Football rights, MLB and college sports assets. We are also happy to add many talented Tribune employees to our group, some of whom we know well.”
As part of the agreement, Sinclair will also have the option to buy two Fox stations; the CW-affiliate WPWR in Chicago (where Fox currently has a duopoly) for about $15 million, and Fox-affiliate KTBC in Austin for approximately $160 million.
Fox said it has also entered new network affiliation agreements with Sinclair.
The seven stations in the Fox deal is part of a bigger sell-off by Sinclair, announced in April, of 23 stations, as part of the broadcast giant’s effort to secure regulatory approval for its proposed acquisition of Tribune Media.
However Sinclair would still run certain stations under joint sales and shared services agreements.
Other buyers for the stations include Standard Media Group, Meredith Corp, Howard Stirk and Cunningham Broadcasting Corp.
Fox said the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2018, coordinated with the completion of the Sinclair-Tribune transaction.
