Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., Tribune Media Co., and other independent TV station owners are under scrutiny from the Department of Justice to determine if they broke antitrust laws and drove up local television advertising prices, a new report says.
The investigation is looking at whether the television station owners worked together when their ad sales team discussed their performance among each other. This could have resulted in increased television commercial prices, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“It is our policy not to comment on a potential investigation,” a Sinclair spokesperson said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “It is our understanding that this is not specific to Sinclair, but focuses on the larger broadcast industry.”
A Tribune spokesperson reportedly refused to provide a comment.
The potential antitrust violation was unearthed by the government as a part of Sinclair’s potential acquisition of Tribune. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and other commissioners voted to send the issue to an administrative law judge.
It’s uncertain when the probe was launched and if the companies will be penalized.
