Media Coverage
Source: The Am Law Daily, The New York Times, Politico, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, USA Today
Media Coverage
Press Contacts: Erik Cummins, Matt Hyams, Olivia Thomas
08.16.13
The Sinclair Broadcasting Group has acquired a group of television stations from Allbritton Communications Company, the parent company of Politico, for $985 million. These stations include seven ABC local affiliates in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C. as well as NewsChannel 8—a 24-hour cable news network that covers Washington, D.C. The deal is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
Washington, D.C.-based Pillsbury communications partners Clifford Harrington and Miles Mason are advising Sinclair on the deal and will be providing counsel on obtaining clearance by the Federal Communications Commission.
“To buy a full-blown news operation in our nation’s capital and an infrastructure that allows us to be connected to our branches of government and be at the pulse of national issues is a once-in-a lifetime event,” said David Smith, chief executive of Sinclair, in a statement.
Smith added, “We are especially excited to acquire the NewsChannel 8 local news channel, not only for the content it can provide our existing news stations, but moreover because their regional cable presence provides the perfect platform should we decide to expand it into other markets, especially given the amount of local news we produce across our entire portfolio.”