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The Sinclair Broadcast Group purchased River City Broadcasting last week for $1 billion-plus in a deal that promises to make the hard-bargaining Sinclair an even tougher player in TV and bring the company's aggressive tactics to the radio business. The purchase will put River City ceo Barry Baker at the head of Sinclair's station operations.
When the transaction is complete, Sinclair will operate 29 TV stations and 34 radio stations, including a number of radio and TV duopolies. Sinclair has been particularly aggressive in pursuing TV duopolies, operating two stations each in Pittsburgh and Baltimore. River City has been equally adept at setting up radio combinations; the company has six stations in Buffalo and seven in Scranton, Pa.
"This is the first step in the...