Reported Fox Bid For Tribune Media Sends Tribune Stock Skyward

Bid?

The reports of 21ST CENTURY FOX and private equity firm THE BLACKSTONE GROUP bidding on TRIBUNE MEDIA sent TRIBUNE stock up 6% on MONDAY to close at $38.75.  The bid would compete with a likely bid from SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP for the company, which owns 42 television stations, cable network WGN AMERICA, an active television production studio, an interest in THE FOOD NETWORK and job site CAREERBUILDER, and one radio station, News-Talk WGN-A/CHICAGO. 

While SINCLAIR owns a radio cluster in SEATTLE courtesy of its purchase of FISHER BROADCASTING, FOX has no radio assets and would raise the question of whether WGN will be spun off.

The interest in TRIBUNE has arisen with the possibility of a relaxing of ownership audience caps or duopoly rules; in the case of a FOX/BLACKSTONE purchase of TRIBUNE, the combined companies would end up with three TV stations in some markets (three in NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, CHICAGO, DALLAS, WASHINGTON) and would necessitate spinoffs but would let FOX achieve a duopoly in PHILADELPHIA and would give the network an owned and operated station in SEATTLE, where it has at times played hardball with TRIBUNE over the affiliation for KCPQ-TV (Q13 FOX). 

SINCLAIR has fewer market overlaps with TRIBUNE; TRIBUNE's prize station assets include CW affiliates WPIX-TV/NEW YORK, KTLA (TV)/LOS ANGELES, KDAF-TV/DALLAS, and KIAH-TV/HOUSTON, independent WGN-TV/CHICAGO, and MY NETWORK TV affiliate WPHL-TV/PHILADELPHIA.

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