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Thread: Is the Right About to Corner the Local TV Market?

  1. #1

    Is the Right About to Corner the Local TV Market?


    Is the Right About to Corner the Local TV Market?
    With upcoming purchases, a right-leaning broadcasting company will have access to 72 percent of American households through local television networks.
    By Ted Goodman Published on June 1, 2017
    https://stream.org/right-corner-local-tv-market/

    The nation’s largest local television station operator is on the verge of closing a $3.9 billion deal to purchase Tribune Media, in a move that could transform conservative television news.

    Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which already owns 173 stations, announced the purchase May 8....



    ...The group, founded in 1971 by Julian Sinclair Smith, has become a powerful force in television broadcasting. Sinclair has been labeled a conservative-leaning broadcaster due to its ownership’s perceived political positions and certain programming requirements. The Washington Post highlighted a 2004 example where Sinclair aired portions of an anti-John Kerry documentary across its stations....



    ...The landmark deal moves some of the nation’s largest local television stations into the hands of Sinclair, including stations in the top three media markets in the country; KTLA in Los Angeles, WGN in Chicago and WPIX in New York City.

    In the definitive agreement, Sinclair will acquire 100 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of Tribune for $43.50 per share, for what amounts to an approximate $3.9 billion. Along with its television stations, Tribune also owns the digital multicast network Antenna TV, minority stakes in the Food Network and CareerBuilder, as well as a variety of real estate assets.

    “This is a transformational acquisition for Sinclair that will open up a myriad of opportunities for the company,” Chris Ripley, President and CEO of Sinclair, said in a statement. “The Tribune stations are highly complementary to Sinclair’s existing footprint and will create a leading nationwide media platform that includes our country’s largest markets.”...




    ...The powerful aggregation of local television stations gives Sinclair a massive platform for news coverage at the local level. Rumors have swirled that the group may be courting former Fox News Channel personality Bill O’Reilly or current host Sean Hannity in an effort to centralize its political programming.

    Sinclair denies
    that it is recruiting Hannity, while speculation swirled the group may be looking to compete with the Fox News Channel as a home for conservative-leaning news consumers.

    Boris Epshteyn, a Trump campaign spokesman who also briefly served in the White House, joined Sinclair in April to serve as its chief political analyst. The move is further evidence that the group is ramping up its political muscle.

    “We understand the frustration with government and traditional institutions,” Scott Livingston, Sinclair’s vice-president of news, said. “Mr. Epshteyn brings a unique perspective to the political conversation and will play a pivotal role in our mission to dissect the stories in the headlines and to better inform and empower our viewers.”...


    This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind, having the understanding darkened...
    (Ephesians 4:17-18)

    Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly...
    (Psalm 1)

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  3. #2
    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    I can't imagine the Democrats and liberal media not getting hold of this and trying to change some kind of laws. I remember when Rush Limbaugh was at the height of his popularity and the Dems were trying to change the laws because no left station could even survive.

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  5. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by fuego View Post
    I can't imagine the Democrats and liberal media not getting hold of this and trying to change some kind of laws. I remember when Rush Limbaugh was at the height of his popularity and the Dems were trying to change the laws because no left station could even survive.
    I left this part out...


    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which has feuded with Sinclair in the past, must approve the purchase. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is expected to to clear the deal, as he ushers in a new era of free-market ideals inside the Commission.

    The FCC would not comment on the deal.


    This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind, having the understanding darkened...
    (Ephesians 4:17-18)

    Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly...
    (Psalm 1)

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  7. #4
    I'm pretty sure Sinclair owns our local Fox affiliate.

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  9. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by GodismyJudge View Post

    Is the Right About to Corner the Local TV Market?
    With upcoming purchases, a right-leaning broadcasting company will have access to 72 percent of American households through local television networks...
    Praise God! That's been one of my prayers of late, that the media stops those hard left slants and actually reports real news without any biases.

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  11. #6
    Update...


    Sinclair Deal Draws Unlikely Opponent: Conservative News Media
    By Sydney Emberaug. 8, 2017
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/b...pposition.html

    The Sinclair Broadcast Group's proposed acquisition of Tribune Media has ignited expected opposition from left-leaning advocacy groups that deplore news media consolidation and the right-leaning commentary the company pushes out to its local television stations.

    But a more unlikely group has recently joined the chorus of critics:
    conservative media outlets that say that the merger will limit competition and wipe out independent voices....



    ..."A free and diverse press, a bedrock principle of American democracy, will be crippled by this proposed merger," Newsmax said in its filing. "The level of media concentration proposed by this transaction will homogenize the content available to U.S. consumers, eliminate unique viewpoints and reduce press diversity, especially in the delivery of local news."

    In a separate filing, One America News Network and The Blaze, along with several other independent programmers from across the political spectrum, presented a similar case....




    ....The outlets may also have another reason for opposing the merger: Sinclair's expansion could hurt their own aspirations.

    With a president in the White House who has consistently tried to discredit the mainstream news media, and with Fox News, the longtime king of conservative programming, still powerful but having lost some of its biggest stars, conservative news outlets have a unique opportunity to extend their influence.

    "Even though they may be ideologically aligned, Newsmax and others see Sinclair is going to be so big that they'll swallow up ad dollars and starve the conservative competition," Craig Aaron, the president of the consumer advocacy group Free Press, which opposes the merger, said in an email.

    Among the others who have objected to the merger is Dish Network.

    Should the $3.9 billion acquisition close, Sinclair would have as many as 233 local television stations and would reach more than 70 percent of households in the United States. It would also gain a toehold in major markets like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York....




    This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind, having the understanding darkened...
    (Ephesians 4:17-18)

    Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly...
    (Psalm 1)

  12. #7
    The left ain't happy especially in light of what Sinclair had their anchors do:


    TV anchors decrying 'fake' news put spotlight on Sinclair Broadcast Group

    A promo attacking the media is being recited on Sinclair-owned stations across the country and catching heat over a perceived politically tinged bias.

    In March, TV anchors at broadcast stations across the U.S. began reading from an identical script passed down to them by their owner — Sinclair Broadcast Group.

    "We're concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country," the anchors said, reading from the script.

    "Unfortunately, some members of the national media are using their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control 'exactly what people think' ... This is extremely dangerous to our democracy," the script continued.

    The segments drew the ire of media journalists and watchdogs...

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...ompany-n862016

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  14. #8
    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    So let me get this straight. Sinclair is under fire from the liberal media for doing what the liberal media does? For calling them out? I mean talk about open hypocrisy. How can they even come against this stuff with a straight face? They really think they are the truth and aren't biased in any way. Maybe.

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  16. #9

    Sinclair's 'Next Gen TV' Is Positioned to Start Data Collection on 72% of US Households
    "We will have perfect data all the time" says Sinclair exec about new TV broadcast technology that enables them to collect data on consumers through TV sets and mobile devices.

    By Kendra Chamberlain
    April 10, 2018
    https://broadbandnow.com/report/sinclair-next-gen-tv/

    Overview

    Outdated local broadcast TV is being replaced by a new, broadband-enabled standard called 'Next Gen TV'.

    'Next Gen TV' will allow broadcasters to track and collect data on consumers through their TVs and other connected devices, much like Google and Facebook.

    Many of the patents underpinning 'Next Gen' technology are owned by Sinclair, a conservative-leaning media group.

    Sinclair is close to FCC approval on a merger deal with Tribune, giving them access to 72% of US households. [1]

    Privacy advocates are concerned about comprehensive nationwide data collection and consumer targeting by one dominant media group.

    A new IP-based broadcast technology is being rolled out which will enable local television broadcasters to track consumers and serve targeted advertisements the same way Facebook, Google and YouTube already do.

    The new technology, called "next Gen TV," promises to revolutionize broadcast TV by modernizing over the air video delivery for the 21st century, and bringing data-driven advertising solutions to antenna TV broadcasts.

    Next Gen TV is supported by the new standard ATSC 3.0, an update from the current antiquated ATSC 1.0 standard....

    ....Sinclair Broadcast Group is a major backer of next gen TV. Sinclair has invested over $30 million in Next Gen technology, and holds a handful of patents that are baked into the ATSC 3.0 standard.

    In fact, Sinclair executives have routinely stated that ATSC 3.0 — and the new advancements in advertising technology for linear TV — will lay the foundation of Sinclair's future growth strategy, encompassing terrestrial broadcast, Internet-delivered video, subscription services and even video delivery to connected cars.

    But the technology will also give Sinclair — the largest broadcaster in the US — unprecedented access to viewer data.
    As Sinclair executive chairman David Smith described in a recent interview:

    "We'll know where you are, who you are, and what you're doing — just like you do now, just like everybody does now, the Internet does, or Google, or a Facebook. We will have perfect data all the time." [3]





    ...ATSC 3.0 is a hybrid broadcast and IP-based delivery standard. The technology was designed to accommodate new viewing behaviors, such as watching TV shows on-demand or on mobile devices, and offering new video technologies like 4K resolution or HDR (high dynamic range). The ATSC 3.0 standard is considered the biggest technological update to antenna TV since the transition to high definition digital signals in 2009.

    ATSC 3.0 enables broadcasters to take advantage of video codec HEVC (H.265), which will allow them to pack more information into a broadcast, including things like:

    Multiple audio or captioning tracks

    On-demand viewing of popular shows without the need for a DVR

    delivering 4K UHD and HDR versions of content to compatible TV sets

    The broadcast signals can be received and decoded by any display device with a tuner, which means devices like tablets and smartphones could also receive the signals, if hardware makers decide to build these devices with tuners inside. That would give broadcasters the ability to deliver "Mobile TV" — TV programming delivered directly to mobile devices.

    And because the technology supports two-way communication between the broadcast station and the end user, ATSC 3.0 will also enable broadcasters to collect data about consumers' viewing habits, much like Netflix and Comcast do.

    Broadcasters can then use that data for a variety of things, such as analyzing precisely how many people tuned in to a specific show or sports event. That data will also be used to help determine which ads should be served to you while you are watching your favorite TV show, just as Facebook uses its data to personalize your feeds with videos and advertisements....




    ...But it will take years before the new broadcast standard is available in most households in the US. First, broadcasters have to upgrade their station infrastructure, which takes time and money. The FCC has mandated that ATSC 1.0 signals continue to be transmitted for at least the next five years, and because the FCC has not allocated any new channel space for ATSC 3.0, broadcasters will need to be able to support both....




    ...Consumers will also have to buy new hardware in order to receive the new signals, a fact that will introduce more friction in the technology's deployment. At CES this year, LG was the only TV maker showing an ATSC 3.0-compatible TV set. [7] The other TV manufacturers will likely wait until the broadcast technology has more penetration across the US before committing to it at scale. Sinclair is also hoping that phonemakers will put ATSC 3.0 tuners into the new models of their phones. Sinclair has tried to entice phone makers to support next gen TV by offering ATSC 3.0 chips to them for free. [8]...



    ...Sinclair is in a unique position to benefit from ATSC 3.0 in ways that other broadcasters won't. The company has successfully doubled its footprint through a number of strategic acquisitions over the past two decades, including the recent acquisition of Bonten Media and the proposed acquisition of Tribune Media last year. With those two acquisitions in the fold, Sinclair will operate 233 stations in 108 markets, including 39 of the top 50 markets, covering some 72% of US households.

    This is the first time the country has seen such consolidation of broadcasting power and influence into the hands of one station group. By comparison, Nexstar Media reaches 39% of US households, CBS reaches 38%, and Fox reaches 37%, according to Nielsen data. [9]

    In other words, Sinclair will have nearly twice the reach of any of the other major broadcasters in the country.

    The ramifications of that consolidation are still being drawn out. Sinclair's proposed acquisition of Tribune Media drew significant criticism from politicians and consumer advocacy groups, who argued that such consolidation was not in the public interest. The acquisition is still being reviewed by the Justice Department for antitrust violations. [10] Sinclair is now facing criticism for its "must-run" editorial segments, which the company has been accused of using to push out a political agenda, masqueraded as local news, across huge swaths of the country.

    Sinclair executives have argued that such consolidation has become necessary for broadcasters to be able to compete effectively against cable TV and streaming video providers. The company's extra-large coverage footprint will enable Sinclair to pool audiences in order to sell ad inventory on an impression-basis with enough scale to compete favorably with all the other ad-supported video platforms that are currently vying for advertising dollars — including the digital kings Google, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter....

















    This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind, having the understanding darkened...
    (Ephesians 4:17-18)

    Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly...
    (Psalm 1)

  17. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by fuego View Post
    I can't imagine the Democrats and liberal media not getting hold of this and trying to change some kind of laws. I remember when Rush Limbaugh was at the height of his popularity and the Dems were trying to change the laws because no left station could even survive.
    Spring/summer of 2016 Obama was raising a complaint for regulation. Well, we see how that worked for them.

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