Sinclair Acquires Eight TV Stations in Seven Markets

Sinclair Broadcast Group, the television broadcast company headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, has announced an agreement to purchase the broadcast assets of Freedom Communications, owner and operator of eight television stations in seven markets.

Included in the purchase, which is pending approval by Freedom Communications shareholders, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Securities Exchange Commission, are:

• WRGB-TV (CBS 6) Albany, New York
• WCWN-TV (CW 45) Albany, New York
• KFDM-TV (CBS 6) Beaumont-Port Arthur-Orange, Texas
• WTVC-TV (ABC 9) Chattanooga, Tennessee
• WPEC -TV (CBS 12) West Palm Beach, Florida
• WWMT-TV (CBS 3) Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, Michigan
• WLAJ-TV (ABC 3) Lansing, Michigan
• KTVL-TV (CBS 10) Medford-Klamath falls, Oregon

Also acquired in the deal will be several secondary channels owned by Freedom Communications, including CW affiliates in Kalamazoo, Lansing, Medford and Beaumont.

Sinclair Broadcast Group's history dates to 1971, when founder Julian Sinclair Smith opened WBFF-TV (FOX 45), which continues to broadcast today in the Baltimore area. The company, which currently operates 65 television stations in 39 markets, moved its corporate headquarters to Hunt Valley in 1999.

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