Sinclair Broadcast Group makes bid for Scripps TV stations

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Sinclair Broadcast Group has made an offer to buy E.W. Scripps, a competing broadcasting company, only a week after announcing it had purchased stock in Scripps.

Sinclair has made an offer to buy Scripps for $7 per share, which includes $2.72 in cash and $4.28 worth of Sinclair stock. This offer is 200% higher than the average price of Scripps stock on November 6th.

On November 17th, Sinclair announced it had purchased shares of Scripps, giving it a financial stake in the company. Scripps operates 61 television stations and owns the ION network, and is currently valued at approximately $393 million.

Scripps, a company based in Cincinnati, announced that its board will thoroughly consider all offers, including the recent, unexpected bid from Sinclair.

The board stated it will make decisions that benefit the company, its owners (shareholders), its workers, and the communities where it operates throughout the U.S.

I was really excited to see the company’s stock jump almost 7.5% when the offer from Sinclair was announced! It ended the day Monday at $4.43 per share, which is great news.

If Scripps were to be acquired, it could significantly change the atmosphere at its local news stations. Founded in 1878 as a newspaper company, Scripps has always prioritized independent journalism, a value reflected in its enduring motto, “Give light.”

Sinclair, a Baltimore-based media company, is well-known for the conservative political views of its owners, particularly David D. Smith. Over time, these views have often been reflected in the news coverage on the company’s local TV stations.

Sinclair recently demonstrated its power by temporarily removing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its local stations in September. This action followed comments made by Kimmel regarding the political views of the person accused of attacking right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

Sinclair not only wanted Kimmel to apologize, but also asked him to donate a significant amount of money to Turning Point USA, an organization founded by Kirk. ABC didn’t agree to either request, but Sinclair resumed airing the program a week later without any changes.

Both Republican and Democratic-leaning TV station groups are asking the Federal Communications Commission to remove the restrictions on how many Americans their stations can reach.

Hollywood Inc.

As the audience moves to streaming, TV stations are pressing Washington for relief.

TV stations can only reach about 39% of the U.S. population, and broadcasters argue this limits their ability to compete with large tech companies, which aren’t subject to the same restrictions when distributing content.

Consumer groups worry that allowing fewer companies to own multiple TV stations will limit the range of viewpoints available to local communities. However, TV industry leaders contend that it’s simply become too expensive to support multiple station owners in one area, especially when they’re frequently reporting on the same news.

Combining stations would strengthen TV owners’ bargaining power when negotiating fees paid by cable and satellite companies. These fees are increasingly important because traditional advertising revenue is down as fewer people watch TV and more switch to streaming services.

Sinclair’s bid for Scripps follows its unsuccessful attempt to buy Tegna Inc., which instead agreed to merge with Nexstar Media Group in a $6.2 billion deal. This merger needs government approval because it would allow Nexstar to reach 80% of all U.S. households with its stations.

Radio station owners who want to merge have believed that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, appointed by Trump, would support their efforts.

A recent social media post hinted that President Trump might oppose media mergers, as he fears they could strengthen the power of networks like NBC and ABC. He’s often strongly criticized the news reporting from both networks, and has even suggested he could take action against their broadcasting licenses.

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2025-11-25 01:01