21st Century Fox is in talks to buy 10 local television stations from Sinclair Broadcast Group.
This comes less than a month after Fox agreed to sell Disney its film, television and international business in a $52.4 billion deal.
Sinclair, already the largest station group in the country, would need to sell the 10 stations in order to win regulatory approval for its $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media, and would reach 72 percent of U.S. homes, according to the Financial Times.
Some of the big market stations that Sinclair would sell to Fox include Denver and Seattle. The TV stations Sinclair would be selling would relieve the company of any potential “full power” conflict, which is prohibited under current Federal Communications Commission rules.
The 10-station purchase would be a part of the newly organized Fox, which in addition to the new stations, includes the Fox broadcast networks and stations, Fox News and Fox Sports. Adding the stations in Denver and Seattle, in particular, would help Fox further monetize its already-lucrative NFL rights.
Fox declined to comment and Sinclair couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.