Perhaps this "cash grab" Sinclair is trying to accomplish is Chris Ripley's last chance before the board sends him packing.
His reign has been a disaster. Starting in 2017 when they were chasing Tribune and bungled that deal to foolishly pass off WGN's new owners as an "unrelated entity", even the Trump-friendly FCC chair sent the deal for review. Tribune backed out, sued Sinclair, and ended up merging with Nexstar to make them the super-broadcaster Sinclair could have been while the UHF discount window was open.
Then, they thought they won the lottery when they first got the Cubs away from WGN, and later picked up the former FOX RSNs, only to see those devolve into bankruptcy and drive the company even further into peril, as they were saddled with baggage from paying off lawsuits and consent decrees from their corporate incompetence. Then came the layoffs and shutdowns of news operations across the country.
And to think they're only now considering selling off their stations to make a buck? They should have never bought half of them to begin with. You thought the RSN's were worthless. After the stripping and cost-cutting Sinclair's done to them, there's no sane buyer that would take some of these on....