• by Wayne Friedman , October 3, 2018

Sinclair Broadcast Group rose in early Wednesday morning trading on the news that it may want to buy the lucrative 22 Fox TV regional sports channels.

At a Deutsch investor conference Tuesday, Chris Ripley, CEO of Sinclair, mused about a deal that would be an “interesting fit” with the big local TV station group, according to Bloomberg.

But the costs might be prohibitive for Sinclair to go it alone -- it would need a partner, perhaps a private equity partner, says Ripley.

Walt Disney -- as part of its deal to acquire about half of 21st Century Fox's businesses for $71.3 billion -- is planning to divest the sports group.

The collective value of the sports channels are estimated to be valued at $20 billion. The Fox regional networks groups hold TV rights to 44 professional basketball, baseball and hockey teams.

At the same time, Ripley reiterated Sinclair's intention to buy more TV stations. This comes after it failed to get federal approval for its $3.9 billion offer to buy Tribune Media.

Early Wednesday morning trading of Sinclair’s stock was up 1.8% to $29.12.