Sinclair, Calling Rainbow PUSH Filings Waste, Say They Show no Harm From Allbritton TV Buy

Rainbow PUSH Coalition's 15-year quest against Sinclair has resulted in "a mountain of wasteful filings" at the FCC, and the group has shown no harm from the broadcaster's buy of Allbritton Communications TV stations, the acquirer said. There's no merit in the group's allegations that Sinclair isn't fit to be an FCC licensee, the company said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 13-203. The group has said Sinclair has improper control over Cunningham Broadcasting (see 1408260032). A Rainbow PUSH supplement in the proceeding asking that the matter of whether Sinclair has been forthcoming with the agency about its relationship with Cunningham be designated for a hearing provides no new information, Sinclair said. "The only 'new information' Rainbow PUSH presents in the Supplement relates to Sinclair's retransmission consent negotiations with DISH that began in June 2015 -- well after the Media Bureau action Rainbow Push seeks review of." Emails between Dish Network and Sinclair on retrans showed the broadcaster was trying to negotiate a carriage deal on Cunningham's behalf, Rainbow PUSH said mid-September (see 1509150054).