FCC Looks to Make a Ruling in Sinclair's Favor

It looks like FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is about to help Sinclair out with a new ruling.

Bloomberg reports that Pai is planning a vote next month on limits to how many TV stations a company can own, rules he has said are too restrictive and that could factor into Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.’s planned purchase of Tribune Media Co.

Pai is poised to schedule a July 12 vote on altering rules that cap broadcasters’ reach at 39 percent of the national audience, according to two people briefed on the plan, who who spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal hasn’t been made public.

A vote next month could head off a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Washington that is considering a challenge to part of the existing rules. The case threatens to push Sinclair over the existing national ownership cap if it buys Tribune.

Proposals from Pai, an appointee of President Donald Trump, are all but certain to pass with votes from the Republican majority he leads. Pai hasn’t publicly recommended a new limit and details of his proposal could not be learned.

Sinclair’s odds of winning approval would get a boost if the FCC votes to raise or end the 39 percent cap, Matthew Schettenhelm, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, said in a note Thursday. Such a move by the FCC could convince the court not to decide its case, he said.

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