Sinclair Broadcast Group said on Tuesday that it would sell 23 stations if its merger with Tribune goes through, including three stations in top 10 markets — Chicago, Dallas and Houston.

The big picture: The deal with Tribune "further solidifies Sinclair's already massive hold on the local TV broadcast industry."

President and CEO of Sinclair, Chris Ripley, said in the release: "While we continue to believe that we had a strong and supportable rationale for not having to divest stations, we are happy to announce this significant step forward in our plan to create a leading broadcast platform with local focus and national reach. The combined company will continue to advance industry technology, including the Next Generation Broadcast Platform, and to benefit from significant revenue and expense synergies."