NPR: Tribune Media Spikes Merger Deal With Sinclair, And Sues Its Former Suitor

Tribune Media Company is ending its troubled merger deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group, less than a month after federal regulators cited "serious concerns" about the plan. Tribune also filed a lawsuit, accusing Sinclair with breach of contract.

"We're obviously disappointed," Tribune CEO Peter Kern said on a conference call Thursday morning. He added, "Unfortunately, Sinclair chose to follow" a strategy that he said was only in Sinclair's own self-interest – and which damaged the deal.

The media merger hit the rocks on July 16, when Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said he had "serious concerns" about the merger because Sinclair's plan to divest some stations might not satisfy federal laws.

"The evidence we've received suggests that certain station divestitures that have been proposed to the FCC would allow Sinclair to control those stations in practice, even if not in name, in violation of the law," Pai said.

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