Tribune Co. might still be named after a newspaper, but its $2.73 billion agreement to buy 19 local TV stations on Monday erased any doubt that the company sees its future in television.

Coming just six months after Tribune emerged from a protracted bankruptcy and named television veteran Peter Liguori as its CEO, the deal to buy Local TV Holdings LLC will make the Chicago-based company the largest commercial-TV station owner in the country, with 42 stations.

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