Chicago is The biggest loser in Tribune Media's sale to Sinclair Broadcasting

Crain's Chicago Business reports:

Sinclair Broadcast Group, which announced a $3.9 billion purchase of Tribune Media today, doesn't need two headquarters so the one acquired in Chicago will have to go.

As Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley told analysts today, nothing changes for his headquarters, in Hunt Valley, Md., or his management or board so everything probably changes at Tribune Media's.

For Tribune Media, born and bred in Chicago from its start as the Chicago Tribune in 1847 to its launch of WGN Radio in 1924 and the addition of WGN-TV in 1948, the broadcaster's longtime connection to the city soon will come to an end. That means corporate functions, like accounting and marketing, and top executives, including Broadcast President Larry Wert, will likely shift to suburban Baltimore or leave.

"Chicago will probably lose quite a bit in this," says Hamed Khorsand, a Los Angeles media analyst with BWS Financial. "Sinclair is not tied to Chicago as Tribune was. There is little to no nostalgia when it comes to brands or properties so everything they would consider non-core is probably going to get sold."

That could very well include WGN Radio. Because Sinclair is mainly a TV broadcaster, with just three radio stations outside Chicago, it's not critical to Sinclair's main strategy of owning TV stations across the country, now including the top three markets. While it's an advantage in winning antitrust approval that Sinclair doesn't have other TV stations in Chicago, it's a competitive disadvantage to operate just one radio station in the city when rivals have clusters of stations.

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