Sinclair Broadcast Group has agreed to purchase Fisher Communications for $373 Million.
The sale includes 20 television stations across eight northwestern markets including Seattle and Portland, as well as four Seattle radio stations. Sinclair will acquire News simulcast 1000 KOMO/97.7 KOMO-FM, Talk 570 KVI, and Hot AC “Star 101.5” KPLZ as part of the transaction.
The deal will return Sinclair to radio ownership for the first time since 2000 when it completed the divestiture of its then 52 radio stations in a pair of sales that netted the company over a billion dollars. 46 stations serving nine markets were sold to Entercom in 1999 for $824.5 Million, while the St. Louis cluster was sold in February 2000 to Emmis for $220 Million.
TVNewsCheck.com first reported the deal last night and has more details on the televison aspects.