Justice Department OK's Sinclair/Allbritton Deal

It's just about a done deal.

On Tuesday, the Justice Department signal that it has no antitrust issues with Sinclair's purchase of Allbritton stations.

Now it moves over to the FCC and although the clock still running, it is expected that the FCC will gives its approval before the July 27 date after which either company could back out of the sale.

Sinclair restructured the deal to make it more palatable to an FCC now focused on sharing arrangements with associated financial elements.

Sinclair announced July 29, 2013, that it had struck a deal for Allbritton's TV stations, including WJLA Washington, and its NewsChannel 8 regional cable news net. At the time, the deal was expected to close by the fourth quarter of that year, but the FCC under Chairman Tom Wheeler has been going over deals involving sharing arrangements with a fine-tooth-comb and signaled they would take extra time to vet.

H/T B&C