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The Tribune stations in New York and Chicago would not go into a trust, but Sinclair said it had reached agreements to sell those stations to third parties that it would partner with later. Selling them will help Sinclair get near an important threshold: owning stations that reach no more than than 39 percent of American households, the limit under F.C.C. rules.
The F.C.C. review could hit another roadblock. The agency’s inspector general is looking into whether the F.C.C. chairman, Ajit Pai, improperly coordinated with Sinclair on regulatory decisions that enabled the merger. The inspector general’s office says its policy is to not comment on the existence or the nonexistence of an investigation.
In addition, Sinclair’s new plan has not satisfied the Justice Department, which still seeks more divestitures, according to one of the people familiar with the investigation.
