Fox Buying 7 Sinclair Spinoffs for $910 Million

21st Century Fox signed a definitive agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media to acquire seven stations for approximately $910 million. The move is designed to speed federal approval of the $4.6 billion Sinclair-Tribune merger and follows news of spinoffs of 23 other stations from that deal. The transaction will grow Fox Television Stations' coverage to nearly half of all US households, and its market presence to 19 of the top 20 DMAs, including the addition of key markets that align with Fox's sports rights. Currently, Fox reaches 36.8% of homes, but, with the Federal Communications Commission’s UHF discount, the figure shrinks to only 24.3%. With the purchase of these seven stations, its reach will grow by 9.1 points to 45.9% but, with the discount, it will still be at just 30.4%, well below the FCC’s 39% cap.