Less than a month after Tribune Media filed a lawsuit against Sinclair Broadcast Group, effectively breaking off the merger between the two companies, Sinclair is suing back.
Sinclair is a right-leaning media conglomerate that owns close to 200 local TV stations, nation-wide. It had planned to merge with Tribune Media, which owns 42 stations, which would've reportedly created the biggest TV company in the U.S.
That deal fell apart after the FCC raised concerns about Sinclair's plans to comply with its limits on TV station ownership. Tribune then sued, accusing Sinclair of purposely disregarding those concerns to undermine the deal.
In his announcement of the suit Wednesday, Sinclair President and CEO Chris Ripley accused Tribune Media of, "seeking to capitalize on an unfavorable and unexpected reaction from the Federal Communications Commission to capture a windfall for Tribune."
Both companies have called each others' suits "meritless."
