After the FCC came out and basically said that Sinclair's pants are on fire, their stock has been headed the wrong direction. 

The FCC gave Sinclair a major blow when they said that they could not approve the Tribune deal at this time and sent it to an administrative judge. 

Many were shocked, thinking that the Sinclair/Tribune deal was all but a rubber stamp away from being done.

“I didn’t see that coming,” said Tuna Amobi, CFRA Research senior analyst, one of several analysts who said the deal seemed even more certain after Fox Broadcasting agreed in May to buy seven stations from Sinclair as its sought regulatory approval. “From all indications, we were leaning toward having that deal close pretty soon… Ultimately, it appeared that the criticisms were just too much to ignore.”

“Sinclair was always viewed as one of those station groups that is politically savvy and connected, especially within Republican circles, which is why this came as a surprise to us,” said Amobi, whose firm downgraded Sinclair’s stock from buy to hold.

In the end, it may have been all the opponents to the Sinclair deal that helped kill it. 

David Goodfriend, an attorney who has fought against mergers for two decades, said he has never seen such a diverse range of political views among opponents.

“The number and variety of opponents to the merger were staggering,” said Goodfriend, chairman of the nonprofit consumer advocacy group, Sports Fans Coalition, which opposed the Sinclair/Tribune merger, and a former legal adviser at the FCC.

Not getting the deal passed is a huge blow for Sinclair, but having their stock downgraded can be even a bigger one. 

If the Sinclair/Tribune deal does end of being pronounced dead, look for some changes at the top of the company. 

Shareholders will stand for a lot, but when the stock price starts taking a hit, then they will demand that heads will roll.  

H/T Baltimore Sun