Allbritton Communications to Sell Eight TV Stations, Including WJLA

By Mary Ann Barton

Arlington-based WJLA and its companion, NewsChannel 8, are in line to have a new owner.

Allbritton Communications has agreed to sell eight of its television stations, including WJLA, to Sinclair Broadcast Group for $985 million.

"We are thrilled to add the Allbritton properties to our growing portfolio and national footprint," David Smith, president and CEO of Sinclair, said in a statement. "To buy a full-blown news operation in our nation's capital and an infrastructure that allows us to be connected to our branches of government and be at the pulse of national issues is a once-in-a-lifetime event." 

He continued: "We are especially excited to acquire the NewsChannel 8 local news channel, not only for the content it can provide our existing news stations, but moreover because their regional cable presence provides the perfect platform should we decide to expand it into other markets, especially given the amount of local news we produce across our entire portfolio."

Politico is not part of the deal and will still be retained by Allbritton. The company made it clear in May that Politico would not be a part of any sale.

Sinclair has a history of leaning conservative, according to the Seattle Times, including:

• The company ordered its stations to air a documentary critical of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry right before the 2004 election.

• The same year, Sinclair blocked the broadcast of a “Nightline” episode about troops killed in the Iraq war. “‘Nightline’ is not reporting news; it is doing nothing more than making a political statement,” according to Sinclair's explanation of the decision. The company replaced the broadcast with what it considered a more balanced report.