On May 8, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that it would acquire Tribune Media for $3.9 billion, plus the assumption of $2.7 billion in debt held by Tribune. If the deal receives regulatory approval by the FCC and the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, this would reunite sister station WTTV under the Sinclair umbrella, fifteen years after the group sold the station to Tribune. WXIN/WTTV would also gain a new sister station in CBS primary/Fox subchannel-only affiliate WSBT-TV in the nearby South Bend market. The deal has brought concerns by Fox about increased leverage that Sinclair would have with reverse compensation in future Fox affiliation contract negotiations as the Tribune purchase would add 14 Fox stations based entirely in top-50 markets to the 38 that Sinclair already operates (which would account for 28% of the Fox network's national affiliate reach). Executives with network parent 21st Century Fox also see Sinclair as a competitor to Fox News Channel as the group produces conservative-leaning news and commentary segments that appear on local newscasts of stations owned and/or operated by the group. (This has furthered existing confusion among some viewers over the connection between Fox News and local newscasts on Fox stations, despite the fact that Fox News is not structured as a news division of the Fox Broadcasting Company and operates as a separate entity from its broadcast sister.)