IG Reviewing FCC Changes That Benefited Sinclair-Tribune Merger

The internal watchdog at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opened an investigation into whether changes made by the agency last year improperly helped to grease the skids for Sinclair's purchase of Tribune, The New York Times reported.

At issue is the timing. The FCC and chairman Ajit Pai last April approved rules to allow broadcasters more latitude in buying stations they own; a few weeks later, Sinclair announced its controversial and disputed decision to buy Tribune Media for $3.9 billion.

The Inspector General, David Hunt, is thought be looking at the possibility that Pai's decisions were coordinated with Sinclair executives, the Times reports. A New York Times report in August found that Pai and his staff had met with Sinclair executives several times.

The IG has not confirmed whether there is an investigation.

"For months I have been trying to get to the bottom of the allegations about Chairman Pai's relationship with Sinclair Broadcasting," New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the committee that oversees the FCC, told the Times. "I am grateful to the F.C.C.'s inspector general that he has decided to take up this important investigation."

The Sinclair-Tribune merger is expected to be approved in the coming weeks, the Times reports, which would make it the country's biggest broadcaster, reaching 7 out of 10 homes.

However, if the IG found evidence of improper conduct by the FCC, it would pave the way for any approvals to be challenged in the courts.

"An investigation could cast a cloud over the whole process," Andrew Schwartzman, a senior fellow at Georgetown Law Center's Institute for Public Representation, told the Times. "For the review, knowledge of an investigation could generate caution and even delay completion of the deal."

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