Sinclair Broadcast Group is looking to make some moves in the local broadcast channel marketplace. In a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sinclair declared that it had purchased an 8.2% equity stake in E.W. Scripps, another company that owns local TV stations across the United States. The move could presage a larger pursuit of Scripps by Sinclair, which could lead to the creation of a sports broadcast giant.

Sinclair reportedly has an interest in acquiring 100% of Scripps if possible, and its purchase of an 8.2% stake could be just the first step in the process. In its filing with the SEC, Sinclair says the two sides have “engaged in constructive discussions for several months” about the possibility of combining.

A full merger may never come to pass, but if it does, it would create a company that has a huge reach. It would add 60 stations to Sinclair’s inventory of 178, and could potentially make a powerful new sports distribution company with a wide range of popular events.

Sinclair owns Tennis Channel, while Scripps is in control of Ion — which offers NWSL and WNBA games, the Big Sky conference, and local rights to the Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, Utah Mammoth, and Tampa Bay Lightning. Bringing the two together could be an incentive for more pro teams to license their local rights to the new company and present other opportunities for sports programming enhancements.

Regulators would have to approve the deal, and U.S. law prohibits any single owner from controlling stations that reach more than 39% of U.S. households. Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr has spoken of his desire to have those rules loosened, but critics of that proposal have pushed back against what they see as reduced choice in local TV news perspectives.

The merger and acquisition winds are blowing all over the entertainment world, and Sinclair is just the latest company to show interest in a major purchase. Will it succeed in its pursuit of Scripps? We’ll make sure to keep you up to date on any steps forward the transaction takes.