Lawyers at five firms were called in to advise on Sinclair Broadcast Group's $985 million purchase of a group of television stations from Allbritton Communications Company, the parent company of Politico, as the ongoing consolidation in the television industry continues to benefit the legal sector.
In a deal announced Monday, Sinclair has agreed to acquire seven ABC local affiliates, as well as NewsChannel 8—a 24-hour cable news network that covers Washington, D.C.—from Arlington, Virginia–based Allbritton. The ABC stations include affiliates in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia, as well as the network's coveted Washington, D.C. affiliate, WJLA. The New York Times notes that the size of the deal—which outpaced by about $100 million some analysts' predictions from what the stations would fetch went they went up for sale in May—reflects the appeal of WJLA, which is located in one of the country's top television markets.
