News Corp will add Chris-Craft's 10 TV stations to the 22 it already owns. The enlarged 32-station Fox will now serve 41% of the US market. The deal will boost its presence in significant markets such as New York, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
The FCC has given News Corp two years to sell off one of its two New York-area TV stations -- WWOR-TV 9 and WNYW-TV 5 -- in order to comply with media-ownership laws, which prevent it from owning the New York Post and two New York TV stations.
With a 41% reach, News Corp has won a temporary reprieve from legislation that currently prevents a company reaching more than 35% of the TV audience. By the time the reprieve runs out, the legislation, which is currently under review, could have changed in favour of News Corp.
The deal is expected to be finalised on July 31.
Approval of the deal, which was won by a 3-2 Republican/Democrat party line vote, has angered some.
FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani, who is also a Democrat, told the Wall Street Journal that the sale "violates the Communications Act and raises serious concerns regarding the ongoing concentration in the ownership of television stations and other media".
She added that the deal "further diminishes the marketplace of ideas" without any benefits to the public.