News summary: Tribune buys TV stations for $2.73B
News summary: Tribune to buy 19 TV stations for $2.73B and No. 1 local broadcasting crown
GOING LOCAL: Tribune Co. said it would buy Local TV and its 19 TV stations for $2.73 billion. The acquisition makes Tribune the nation's No. 1 local TV broadcaster and broadens its reach to nearly half the country, or more than 50 million households.
CONSOLIDATION WAVE: The deal is the latest in a wave of consolidation sweeping the industry as TV station owners gird for battle in contentious fee negotiations with cable and satellite TV companies —fights that have caused programming blackouts.
GIANT AWAKES: The deal comes six months after Tribune emerged from a four-year excursion through bankruptcy court. It filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008 following a debt-laden buyout orchestrated by Chicago real estate mogul Sam Zell a year earlier.
