According to the FCC signal contour maps, WSNN’s signal significantly overlaps with WFLA/WTTA in Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte counties, so turning WSNN into a repeater of either station seems to be out of the question.
There’s also significant overlap with WFLA/WTTA in terms of news programming, as WSNN competes with both stations in the same timeslots on weekdays and weekends (including the 7:00-9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. slots, where WTTA carries newscasts); the only timeslots that either has to themselves are 4:00 p.m. (WFLA) and 10:00 p.m. (WSNN) as well as certain mid-afternoon and weekend slots that WSNN exclusively programs (1:00-3:00 and 3:30-4:00 p.m. weekdays, and a few morning, midday and prime time slots on weekends).
Another open question is what happens to WSNN’s existing studios, and if Nexstar will turn them into a Sarasota bureau for WFLA, regardless of whether their news departments merge.