Some Top House Democrats want the Federal Communications Commission to force Sinclair Broadcasting Group to sell off some television stations if the agency approves its proposed merger with Tribune Media.

So far, it appears that the FCC has no plans to do that. 

The Hill writes that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), the top Dem on a communications and technology subcommittee wrote to the agency's commissioners on Monday to voice their concerns about the merger.

The Democrats pointed out that currently, no single broadcaster is allowed to have a reach over 39 percent of the U.S. population. Those media ownership rules were created to create a diversity of viewpoints among local media stations across the country.

But Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai moved in April to reinstate an exemption called the “UHF discount.” Created in 1985, it allows broadcasters to count only half of their broadcast reach towards the 39 percent cap. It was created to address gaps between VHF and much lower quality UHF signals, which no longer exist now that signals are all broadcast across digital frequencies.

Even with the discount though, Sinclair’s holdings would still surpass the cap, hitting 45 percent of U.S. audiences.

Democrats say if the merger is approved, Sinclair should be forced to divest its holdings over two years until it hits the broadcaster audience cap.

“Congress did not intend to allow a company to circumvent the cap using outdated rules such as the UHF discount,” the Democrats' letter says. 

Sinclair's friend and FCC boss Ajit Pai had no comment on the Dems request. 

It's likely that he is waiting for Sinclair to tell him what to say. 

SMH....