CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Texas-based Nexstar Media Group announced on Thursday the closing on its acquisition of Tribune Media stations, a sale approved Monday by the Federal Communications Commission. That officially makes Cleveland Fox affiliate WJW Channel 8 a Nexstar station, and it appears that won’t be changing.
Channel 8 was in the middle of high-stakes negotiations between Nexstar and the station’s former owner, Fox Television. Both companies made no secret of wanting Channel 8, which will remain a Fox affiliate carrying Fox network programming. But it appears that Nexstar could not pressured or persuaded to part with it.
Fox had its eye on several of the Tribune stations that were Fox affiliates, particularly ones in NFL cities. A couple of stations might end up in Fox’s hands, but, according to industry sources, all indications are that Cleveland will not be one of them.
What we know with absolute certainty is that WJW now is part of the Nexstar nation of stations. The station’s website already had the Nexstar ownership listed by Thursday afternoon.
Nexstar Chairman Perry Sook plans to hold a town hall video conference Friday afternoon with all of his stations. The merger makes Nexstar the country’s largest owner of TV stations, with 197 stations in 115 TV markets.
Approval for the sale by the Department of Justice, also required, was announced July 31. On Sept. 4, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated an item approving the deal for a vote by the other commissioners.
Tribune had owned Channel 8 since 2013. Fox owned it from 1997 to 2008.