Sinclair Broadcast Group

History

Early roots

The company's roots date back to the late 1950s, when electrical engineer Julian Sinclair Smith and his wife Carolyn B. Smith, owning 34.5% of the shares, along with a group of shareholders, formed the Commercial Radio Institute, a broadcasting trade school in Baltimore, Maryland. In March 1958, Commercial Radio Institute applied to build an FM radio station in Baltimore. In April 1959, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted the construction permit – for the estimated US$25,964 (equivalent to $286,800 in 2025) construction project. Sinclair's first station, WFMM-FM (now WPOC), signed on the air in February 1960. In 1967, Smith, as Chesapeake Engineering Placement Service, partly owned by the name-shortened Commercial Radio Inc., applied for and was granted, a construction permit for a new UHF television station in Baltimore, expected to be operating by September 1968 on channel 45, no call sign yet assigned.

Chesapeake Television Corporation

Channel 45, with the call sign WBFF, joined on April 11, 1971. By that time, Chesapeake Engineering Placement Service had changed its name to Chesapeake Television Corporation. The Commercial Radio Institute, by then a division of Chesapeake Television Corporation, founded WPTT (now WPNT) in Pittsburgh, in 1978, and WTTE in Columbus, Ohio, in 1984. All three stations originally were independents. In 1986, WBFF and WTTE became charter affiliates of the Fox Broadcasting Company at its launch. The Fox affiliation in Pittsburgh went to higher-rated WPGH-TV, which was purchased by Sinclair in 1990.

Chesapeake's first foray into local news came in the early 1980s when it launched a newscast on WPTT, a rarity at this time for stations not affiliated with the then-major networks (ABC, CBS and NBC). This newscast was called WPTT News. In the opening segment, the letters "news" were formed from a compass indicating the four cardinal directions. This opening segment, featuring then-anchorman Kevin Evans, appeared briefly, and was audible, in the movie Flashdance during a scene where Jennifer Beals' character returns home and turns on the television.

The presentation was relatively low-budget, with the anchor simply reading copy, with no field video shots other than the weather read over a stock video shot denoting the conditions outside. It was not a factor in taking ratings away from then-market laggard WIIC-TV, now WPXI, much less solid runner-up WTAE-TV and then-locally owned Group W powerhouse KDKA-TV. As WBFF did not air newscasts until 1991 and WTTE would not air any newscasts from its 1984 sign-on until Sinclair purchased ABC affiliate WSYX in 1996, this marked the company's only foray into local news for years, a genre it became much more involved in from the mid-1990s on.

Sinclair Broadcast Group

Smith's son David D. Smith began taking a more active role in the company in the 1980s. In 1985, the Chesapeake Television Corporation changed its name to Sinclair Broadcast Group. In 1990, David and his three brothers bought their parents' remaining stock and went on a buying spree that eventually made it one of the largest station owners in the country, through the purchases of stations and of companies that owned groups of stations.

Sinclair pioneered the concept of the local marketing agreement (LMA) in American television in 1991, when it sold WPTT to its general manager Eddie Edwards (founder of Glencairn, Ltd., the Sinclair-affiliated licensee that would eventually become Cunningham Broadcasting) in order to purchase fellow Pittsburgh station WPGH-TV to comply with FCC ownership rules of the time that prohibited duopolies, while agreeing to allow Sinclair to retain operational responsibilities for the station. However, while LMAs would become an integral part of the company's business model in subsequent years, Sinclair's plans to acquire KOKH-TV in Oklahoma City through Glencairn, which would subsequently attempt to sell five of its 11 existing LMA-operated stations to Sinclair outright in turn (with Sinclair stock included in the deal) was challenged by the Rainbow/PUSH coalition (headed by Jesse Jackson) to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1998, citing concerns over a single company controlling two broadcast licenses in the same market in violation of FCC rules. The coalition argued that Glencairn passed itself off as a minority-owned company (Edwards is African American) which, since the Smith family controlled most of the company's stock, was technically a Sinclair arm that planned to use the LMA with KOKH to gain control of the station and create an illegal duopoly with KOCB. In 2001, the FCC levied a $40,000 fine against Sinclair for illegally controlling Glencairn. Sinclair became a publicly listed company in 1995, raising $105 million in a sale of 5 million shares at its opening on NASDAQ on June 6. The Smith family retained a controlling interest.

In 1994, Sinclair signed a deal with Paramount and its UPN network, bringing five affiliates WPTT-TV in Pittsburgh, WNUV-TV in Baltimore, WCGV-TV in Milwaukee, WSTR-TV in Cincinnati and KSMO-TV in Kansas City to the network. In 1996, Sinclair bought out Superior Communications for $63 million. In 1997, Sinclair reached a deal with The WB to convert many of the UPN affiliates to The WB. Following the disputes, in August 1998, Sinclair and UPN signed a new agreement. In February 1998, Sinclair bought out Sullivan Broadcasting for $1 billion. In 1998, Sinclair bought out Max Media Properties, for $252 million. In November 2004, Sinclair sold off KSMO-TV in Kansas City to Meredith Corporation for $26.8 million. In December 2004, Sinclair divested KOVR-TV in Sacramento to Viacom, now Paramount Global, for $285 million.

Programming

Sinclair had experimented with using a centralized news organization called News Central that provided prepackaged news segments for distribution to several of the group's stations. These segments were integrated into programming during local news broadcasts. Mark Hyman, a high-ranking executive at Sinclair, also created "The Point", a series of conservative editorial segments that were broadcast on stations operated by the group that maintain news departments.

In October 2015, Sinclair premiered Full Measure, a syndicated public affairs program hosted by Sharyl Attkisson. On July 1, 2017, Sinclair launched a new daily morning kids' TV block called KidsClick, partnering with This TV. The block was moved to TBD in 2018, and was eventually discontinued 8 months later. In June 2020, Sinclair announced it would launch "a headline news service" that would air weekday mornings (6:00 AM – 9:00 AM local time) and rely on news-gathering services of Sinclair's stations as well as original content, similar in format to NewsNation produced by Nexstar Media Group for WGN America. The show, titled The National Desk, launched on January 18, 2021, and airs on Sinclair's CW and MyNetworkTV-affiliated stations along with its Fox-affiliated stations that do not have their own local morning news shows. On September 27, 2021, The National Desk expanded to a two-hour evening newscast, airing 10 pm to midnight Eastern Time.

Political views

Sinclair's stations have been known for featuring news content and programming that promote conservative political positions. They have been involved in various controversies surrounding politically motivated programming decisions, such as news coverage and specials during the lead-ups to elections that were in support of the Republican Party.

A 2019 study by Emory University political scientists Gregory J. Martin and Josh McCrain in the American Political Science Review found that "stations bought by Sinclair reduce coverage of local politics, increase national coverage and move the ideological tone of coverage in a conservative direction relative to other stations operating in the same market". A 2021 study found that viewers in areas with a Sinclair TV station had lower approval of President Barack Obama and were less likely to vote for Democratic presidential nominees. A 2023 study found that Sinclair-owned stations aired fewer reports mentioning masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, but their reports were more likely to focus on partisan views of the issue.

The Washington Post noted that WJLA-TV's news content began to exhibit a conservative slant following Sinclair's acquisition of the station, including having established a partnership with the conservative Washington Times newspaper, while the company produces pieces from a Washington bureau that similarly exhibit a conservative viewpoint. Sinclair executive David Smith met with Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, in which he told the future president, "We are here to deliver your message."

In 2004, Sinclair's political slant was scrutinized by critics when it was publicized that nearly all of Sinclair's recent campaign contributions were to the Republican Party. In particular, the Center for Public Integrity showed concern that the Republican slant of Sinclair's news programming, along with Mark Hyman's history of government lobbying, such as for the FCC to loosen rules regarding concentration of media ownership—a factor that has assisted in the company's growth, made its stations provide "anything but fair and balanced news programming". Hyman disputed these allegations by stating that its newscasts were "pretty balanced" and that "the reason why some on the left have characterized us as conservative is that we run stories that others in the media spike".

In 2017, all Sinclair news-producing stations began inserting a waving American flag into the right corner of its lower third news graphics. This was observed by a media trade website as a potential reinforcement of the political slant of Sinclair. At times, Sinclair has disciplined hosts who have stepped over the line regarding propriety. For example, host Jamie Allman resigned from St. Louis ABC affiliate KDNL in 2018, after a comment he made on his now-canceled daily news/commentary show The Allman Report, in which he said that he was "getting ready to ram a hot poker up [then-17-year-old Parkland shooting survivor-turned-gun control activist] David Hogg's ass".

Must-run segments

Sinclair often mandates its stations to air specific reports, segments, programs and editorials, referred to as "must-runs". The company produces long-form programs airing weekends on its stations, including Armstrong Williams' weekly talk show The Right Side, and the political/investigative journalism series Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson. The "must-run" practice has been criticized by news staff at some of Sinclair's stations due to the viewpoints they propagate. In 1996, after CEO David Smith was arrested in a prostitution sting, he ordered Sinclair's Baltimore station WBFF to produce reports on a local drug counseling program as part of his community service sentence. The order was criticized by WBFF reporter LuAnne Canipe.

Following the September 11 attacks, Sinclair ordered its stations to read editorials in support of President George W. Bush's response to the attack. The Baltimore Sun reported that WBFF staff internally objected to the editorial, as they felt that the endorsement would "undermine public faith in their political objectivity". The station, however, complied with the mandate.

Newsroom employees of KOMO-TV in Seattle told The New York Times they felt the national pieces were low quality, and were too politically skewed for the city's progressive audience. One employee admitted they had tried to reduce their prominence by deliberately scheduling them during lesser-viewed portions of newscasts, such as around commercial breaks, in an act of malicious compliance with Sinclair's must-run rules. However, in March 2018, KOMO aired a must-run segment during prime time about some Americans' belief in the existence of a deep state in the federal government, a concept Trump has blamed for undermining his presidency.

In April 2017, Sinclair announced it had hired Boris Epshteyn, who was briefly the White House assistant communications director for surrogate operations for the Trump administration, and a senior advisor of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, as chief political analyst. All Sinclair stations were required to air Ephsteyn's commentary, Bottom Line with Boris nine times per week.

In July 2017, the HBO news satire program Last Week Tonight devoted a segment to discussing Sinclair's editorial practices, in which host John Oliver presented clips of various anchors from stations run by the company, using an identical script describing the FBI as having a "personal vendetta" against Michael Flynn, clips of Mark Hyman editorials, in which he compared multiculturalism and political correctness to a cancer epidemic, and stated that marriage was a solution to domestic abuse, and joked that the "Terrorism Alert Desk" segments defined terrorism as "anything a Muslim does". Oliver felt that it was inappropriate for local newscasts to advance political positions.

Nightline reading of the names

In April 2004, ABC broadcast a special episode of Nightline where host Ted Koppel listed the names of military personnel killed in the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq. Sinclair ordered its seven ABC affiliates not to air the episode. The company claimed the broadcast "[appeared] to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq", and undermined a then-ongoing effort by its Washington bureau to report on positive, "untold" stories from Iraq under occupation that were being ignored by mainstream media outlets. ABC stated that the segment was meant to be "an expression of respect which seeks to honor those who have laid down their lives for this country".

Stolen Honor documentary

In October 2004, just two weeks prior to the 2004 presidential election, it was reported that all 62 of Sinclair's stations would preempt prime time programming to air Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal, a documentary critical of U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry's anti-Vietnam War activism. The film was produced by Carlton Sherwood, a former associate of Tom Ridge, and accused Kerry of prolonging the Vietnam War because of his anti-war activism. The organization Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, an anti-Kerry organization in the 2004 election year, was cross-promoting the film as part of a $1.4 million advertising campaign.

In response, the Democratic National Committee filed a legal motion with the Federal Election Commission stating that it is inappropriate for the media organization to air "partisan propaganda" in the last 10 days of an election campaign. As this controversy made the news, with a number of Sinclair advertisers pulling their ads and Sinclair stock dropping 17% in eleven days, Sinclair announced that it had never intended to air Stolen Honor in an hour slot in the first place, indicating that it might instead show clips of the video in a discussion panel format. Ultimately, Sinclair did not broadcast any such show. Following the incident, Sinclair fired its Washington bureau chief Jon Lieberman for publicly criticizing the film in The Baltimore Sun as "biased political propaganda".

Breaking Point infomercial

In November 2010, it was reported that five Fox affiliates and one ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair broadcast an infomercial critical of then-President Barack Obama, Breaking Point: 25 Minutes that will Change America, which was sponsored by the National Republican Trust Political Action Group. The infomercial painted Obama as an extremist, and claimed that, during the 2008 presidential campaign, he received some campaign money from the Hamas terrorist group, and that Obama said in a speech, "You want freedom? You're gonna have to kill some crackers! You gonna have to kill some of those babies."

The special discussed Obama advisers Van Jones and John Holdren, as well as Obama staff Anita Dunn, Kevin Jennings, Carol Browner and Cass Sunstein – all in an unflattering light. In one case, the special claimed that Holdren said that trees should be permitted to sue humans in court. The infomercial aired at various times during the weekend of October 30, 2010, on Sinclair-owned stations in Madison, Cape Girardeau, Lexington, Pittsburgh, Des Moines, and Winston-Salem – all in swing states vital to the 2010 elections.

2012 pre-election special

On November 5, 2012, six Sinclair stations in swing states aired a special focusing on issues surrounding the presidential election occurring the next day, such as the Libyan civil war and health care reform; the special consisted of a series of segments which were presented by the local anchors at each station. While scheduling of the special was at the discretion of each station, Columbus, Ohio ABC affiliate WSYX pre-empted both ABC World News and Nightline to air it. The special was met with controversy for showing a bias against Obama and focusing little on Republican candidate Mitt Romney, as opposed to showcasing both candidates equally. A Sinclair staff member disputed these claims, stating that "no one is disputing the facts of the stories that aired in the special", and that its decision on which markets to air the special was influenced by their "news value" and resonation with the public.

Coverage during the 2016 presidential election campaign

On December 16, 2016, Jared Kushner, son-in-law of then-President-elect Donald Trump, stated that he had reached deals with Sinclair to give the company extended access to the Trump campaign, in exchange for airing, without further commentary, interviews with the Republican Party candidate on its stations, which Kushner said had a better reach than cable networks such as CNN.

Sinclair VP of news Scott Livingston stated that the company wanted to "give all candidates an opportunity to voice their position and share their position with our viewers", as part of an effort towards "tracking the truth and telling the truth" and allowing Trump to "clearly state his position on the key issues". He stated that Sinclair had made similar offers to the Hillary Clinton campaign. Clinton did not accept offers to do interviews with Sinclair, according to Livingston, though her running mate, Tim Kaine, did. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign stated that the deal did not involve monetary compensation, and that it had attempted to make similar deals with other local station groups such as Hearst Television.

A December 22, 2016 Washington Post review of Sinclair's internal documents, as well as reviews of the newscasts and public affairs programming on the company's stations, revealed that more broadcast time was given to favorable or neutral coverage of Trump's campaign than to other candidates in the primary and general election campaigns of 2016. The coverage included distribution of reports favorable to Trump's campaign or challenging to Clinton's on a "must-run" basis, as well as Sinclair managers offering local reporters and anchors questions of "national importance" to use in interviews with candidates, a common company practice, according to Livingston, so that other Sinclair stations can share the content.

In May 2017, in response to Sinclair's announced intent to acquire Tribune Media, Craig Aaron, president/CEO of media advocacy group Free Press, accused Sinclair of currying favor with the Trump administration through the interview arrangement with Trump, the group's February hiring of former Trump campaign aide Boris Epshteyn as a political analyst, and executive chair David Smith's meetings with then-FCC commissioner Ajit Pai prior to his appointment as the agency's chair in exchange for deregulating media ownership rules to allow the company to expand its broadcasting portfolio.

2018 journalistic responsibility promos

In March 2018, CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter obtained an internal memorandum sent by Sinclair, which dictated that its stations must produce and broadcast an "anchor-delivered journalistic responsibility message" using a mandated script. The promos contain language decrying "biased and false news", and accusing unnamed mainstream media figures of bias. Stelter stated that the script is written to sound like the opinion of the local anchors, despite the text being in fact a mandate from corporate management. At least 66 Sinclair-owned stations produced their own version of the message, with the first being aired on March 23, 2018. Sinclair-owned WMSN-TV refused to air the message, although its news is produced by Morgan Murphy Media-owned WISC-TV.

The promos began to receive mainstream media attention after the sports blog Deadspin, as well as ThinkProgress, posted video compilations featuring all of the promos being played simultaneously. The promos have been criticized as in regard to the greater political context of "fake news" in the media for media bashing, comparing it to the rhetoric of Donald Trump in regard to these topics. Sinclair maintains that its "must-runs" are standard procedure, often covering a wide variety of issues such as news updates regarding terrorism and other public matters on which the company has an opinion while remaining "committed to reporting the facts". After the compilations went viral, Trump responded to the promos on April 2, 2018, defending the company as being "far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC, which is a total joke".

The instructions for the mandated promos tell an/the anchor(s) to state:

I'm/We're extremely proud of the quality, balanced journalism that [proper news brand name of local station] produces. But I'm/We're concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country. The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media. More alarming, national media outlets are publishing these same fake stories without checking facts first. Unfortunately, some members of the national media are using their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control 'exactly what people think.' This is extremely dangerous to our democracy... We understand Truth is neither politically 'left or right.' Our commitment to factual reporting is the foundation of our credibility, now more than ever.

Judy Mikovits interview

In July 2020, Sinclair Broadcast Group scheduled to air an interview of Plandemic creator Judy Mikovits and her lawyer Larry Klayman, conducted by Eric Bolling on the America This Week show. During the interview, Mikovits was introduced by Bolling as an "expert in virology". She put forth a baseless claim that American health official Anthony Fauci created the COVID-19 virus and sent it to China. Bolling did not argue against Mikovits' allegation or fact-check it on-air, although he claimed that he had argued against Mikovits by calling her allegation "hefty". Sinclair Broadcast Group distributed the interview to its local stations, and released the interview online, with the on-screen graphic "Did Dr. Fauci create COVID-19?" After media reports about the Mikovits interview emerged, Sinclair received substantial criticism, resulting in Sinclair canceling its broadcast and removing the interview from Sinclair-affiliated websites.

Arctic Frost investigation

In early October 2025, Sinclair National Desk released articles concerning the Arctic Frost investigation. The coveraged featured criticism of the surveillance aspects of the program. It was a joint federal investigation opened in April 2022 involving the FBI, DOJ Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, National Archives and Office of Inspector General into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election results. The investigation was transferred to Special Counsel Jack Smith's oversight in November 2022, along with other investigations into the election and its aftermath, leading to the federal prosecution of Donald Trump for election obstruction.

Retransmission disputes

Suddenlink

In the summer of 2006, Charter Communications streamlined its operations, which included selling off portions of the cable system's service franchises that it considered to be "geographically non-strategic". Charter's Huntington-Charleston, West Virginia franchise was purchased by Suddenlink Communications. Sinclair requested a $40 million one-time fee, and a $1-per subscription per month fee from Suddenlink for retransmission rights of both ABC affiliate WCHS-TV and Fox affiliate WVAH-TV on the Suddenlink cable system. This led to a protracted media battle and smear campaign between the two companies, and Sinclair pulled the two stations off of Charter's systems in the neighboring Beckley, West Virginia market. After several weeks of negotiations, the two companies reached an agreement which allowed WCHS-TV and WVAH-TV to continue transmission over the Suddenlink cable system. The terms of the agreement were not released to the public.

Mediacom

Mediacom filed an antitrust lawsuit against Sinclair in October 2006, claiming that the group insisted on blanket carriage of 22 Sinclair-owned/managed stations across Mediacom-operated service areas, where Sinclair operates a television station regardless of market differences. The District Court for the Southern District of Iowa denied Mediacom's injunction motion on October 24. The cable provider filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, but dropped the request on December 13. Sinclair's retransmission agreement with Mediacom was originally set to expire on December 1, 2006, but the group later extended the deadline to January 5, 2007.

Despite the extension, the two sides remained at an impasse over how much money Mediacom should pay Sinclair for carriage of its stations. On January 4, the Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau denied Mediacom's complaint, stating that Sinclair failed to negotiate with Mediacom in good faith. After failing to respond to Mediacom's offer to take the dispute to binding arbitration before the deadline, Sinclair pulled all 22 stations from Mediacom's lineups shortly after midnight on January 6.

Despite a plea from Iowa's Congressional delegation urging the two sides to submit to binding arbitration, Sinclair rejected the plea on January 11. The two sides discussed the dispute in front of Iowa lawmakers on January 23. On January 30, 2007, Senators Daniel Inouye, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and Ranking Member Ted Stevens signed a letter addressed to FCC chairman Kevin Martin.

The impasse ended on February 2 when Mediacom announced that it had reached a retransmission agreement with Sinclair for undisclosed terms. All 22 stations were restored to Mediacom systems shortly after the agreement was announced. Mediacom lost 14,000 subscribers during the last quarter of 2006 and an additional 18,000 subscribers during the first quarter of 2007.

In December 2009, Sinclair announced that it would pull all of its stations from Mediacom systems for the second time in three years if a new carriage agreement was not reached by midnight on December 31. The impasse had threatened coverage of the January 5 Orange Bowl in Iowa, where the Hawkeyes played, and the January 7, 2010 BCS National Championship Game in Alabama. Mediacom and lawmakers from Iowa and Alabama asked the FCC to intervene. On December 31, Mediacom and Sinclair agreed to an eight-day extension of the retransmission agreement that permitted Sinclair's stations to remain on Mediacom until January 8. Both sides reached a one-year retransmission agreement on January 7, one day before the interim agreement was set to expire.

Time Warner Cable

Sinclair was involved with retransmission negotiations with Time Warner Cable at the same time as the Mediacom dispute in 2006 and 2007. The two sides reached an agreement on January 19, 2007. In November 2010, Sinclair announced that it would pull 33 of its stations in 21 cities from Time Warner Cable on January 1, 2011, if the two parties did not come to an agreement. The deadline was extended to January 14, 2011. Regardless of the outcome, Time Warner Cable was obligated to carry Fox network programming on its systems due to a deal reached with the network earlier in 2010. The agreement did not extend to syndicated and locally produced programs on Sinclair's Fox affiliates. The two companies reached an agreement on January 15, 2011, shortly after the deadline was extended by another 24 hours.

Comcast

In a January 5, 2007, article, Broadcasting & Cable reported that Sinclair might pull 30 stations from Comcast systems after its retransmission agreement was slated to expire on February 5. Comcast was granted an extension to March 1, and again to March 10. Comcast stated that it would not pay cash for retransmission rights, but was willing to barter, for example, promoting Sinclair stations on cable channels carried by Comcast devoid of any advertising payments by the company. On March 9, Comcast and Sinclair jointly announced a four-year deal for retransmission rights, expiring on March 1, 2011. Sinclair and Comcast came to a new agreement for continued carriage on March 3, 2011; this agreement was negotiated without any public statements or announcements.

Dish Network

Dish Network's retransmission agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group was slated to expire on August 13, 2012. If an agreement had not reached by that time, 74 Sinclair stations would have been blacked out, including the affiliates of three of the major networks. A representative for Dish Network stated that Sinclair is "seeking a massive price increase that would force Dish to pay more to carry Sinclair's stations than it pays to any other broadcaster". A Sinclair representative, meanwhile, stated that it "believes significant doubt exists as to whether or not a new agreement will be reached with Dish". Dish Network subsequently set up its own website regarding the dispute. Dish and Sinclair came to an agreement on August 16, averting the removal of its any of the group's stations. On August 25, 2015, ten days after the 2012 retransmission agreement had expired, Dish customers lost access to 129 Sinclair stations, resulting in the largest local television blackout in history.

DirecTV

DirecTV's retransmission agreement with Sinclair was slated to expire on February 28, 2013. If an agreement had not been reached by that date, 87 Sinclair stations would have been blacked out by the satellite provider. Representatives for Sinclair noted that they "...have been negotiating for quite some time in an effort to reach a new agreement, at this time it does not appear that these efforts will be successful. Although Sinclair does not believe that it is constructive to negotiate its private business relationships in public, Sinclair is informing the public in advance of the end of carriage because it is aware of the impact on a segment of the public from the end of the relationship between the Sinclair stations and DirecTV." DirecTV stated "we will compensate Sinclair fairly, but our customers should not be forced to pay more than twice as much for the same programs that remain available completely free of charge over the air and online." A new carriage agreement was reached between Sinclair and DirecTV on February 28, hours before the previous deal was to have expired.

Hulu with Live TV

On March 7, 2023, the Walt Disney Company began notifying subscribers of its Hulu + Live TV service that it would drop several ABC affiliate stations after failing to reach an agreement with the owner of those broadcast outlets. The stations were removed from Hulu the following day. It later emerged through media reports that the stations were owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and that a retransmission consent agreement between the two companies had lapsed before a new agreement could be reached. In a statement sent to reporters, a spokesperson for Sinclair said they were surprised by the decision to drop the channels and urged Disney to return to the negotiating table.

Sinclair stations

Most of the television stations run by Sinclair are owned by the company outright. However, the company operates many others through either a local marketing agreements or shared services agreements. The company's stations are affiliates of various television networks, like ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. Sinclair also owned or managed several affiliates of the WB and UPN networks, which both launched in January 1995. In September 2006, The WB and UPN merged their operations into a new network, The CW. Eight of Sinclair's WB stations, along with independent station KFBT (now KVCW) in Las Vegas, became affiliates of the new network. At the same time, Sinclair aligned 17 of its stations (ten former WB affiliates, six former UPN stations, and independent WFGX) with MyNetworkTV, a syndication service owned by Fox's parent News Corporation. Sinclair's relationship with Fox/News Corporation was strengthened after Sinclair agreed to a six-year affiliation renewal for its 19 Fox-affiliated stations. The deal included flagship WBFF in Baltimore, despite Fox already owning a station in that same market, MyNetworkTV owned-and-operated station WUTB. In 2012, Sinclair purchased WUTB outright.

Other holdings

Sinclair Networks, LLC – a company created by Sinclair in January 2014, with the hiring of its chief operating officer Doron Gorshein. The company runs:

Comet (2015) sci-fi multicast network.

Charge! (2017) action multicast network.

Roar (2017) comedy/reality multicast network. Formerly operated by Jukin Media.

The Nest (2023) reality/lifestyle multicast network.

Marquee Sports Network (2020) is the regional sports network for the Chicago Cubs with ownership split between Sinclair and the team

Sinclair Original Programming – a division whose formation was announced by the company in August 2014; led by chief operating officer Arthur Hasson, the division will concentrate on entertainment and commercial content. On October 12, 2015, Sinclair Original Programming and the programming department was merged into Sinclair Programming and moved into Sinclair Television Group.

The Tennis Channel, Inc./Tennis media

Tennis Channel (acquired 2016)

Tennis magazine (acquired March 2017)

Tennis.com (acquired March 2017)

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Sinclair Television Group

Sinclair Television Group, Inc. is a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group that owns television stations in mid-sized markets. In June 2015, Sinclair TV Group, Inc. formed Tornante-Sinclair LLC, a TV production company, with Michael Eisner's Tornante Co. With MGM on October 31, 2015, Comet was launched as a sci-fi broadcast subchannel network.

Chesapeake Television

Chesapeake Television is a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group that owns television stations in smaller markets. Chesapeake was founded in 2013, to acquire small-market stations purchased through Sinclair's run of acquisitions. As early as January 2013, Sinclair was looking at forming a new subsidiary group for its smaller-market stations. With the February 2013 announcement of the company's purchase of Barrington Broadcasting, Sinclair announced the formation of a subsidiary for this purpose, Chesapeake Television, to be headed by Steve Pruett, former CEO of Communications Corporation of America and the current chairman of the Fox network's affiliate board. The four stations, as well as a fifth acquired through an LMA, that Sinclair purchased from Cox Media Group and the Barrington stations formed the initial nuclei of the group.

Equity holdings

Acrodyne Technical Services, LLC – broadcasting equipment install, repairs

Dielectric, LLC – broadcasting equipment designer and manufacturer

Sterling Venture Partners, L.P. – private equity firm

Allegiance Capital Limited Partnership – private mezzanine venture capital fund

Patriot Capital II, L.P. – small businesses structured debt and mezzanine financing

Timeline Labs, LLC

Keyser Capital – a wholly owned subsidiary

Triangle Sign & Service, LLC (−2021) – commercial signs manufacture and installs

Alarm Funding Associates, LLC (−2017) regional security funding, alarm operating and bulk acquisition company

Bay Creek South, LLC – planned resort communities (just less than 1,800 acres) near Cape Charles, Virginia

Patriot Capital III, LP – private equity firm

Sinclair Investment Group, LLC – a property investment company

Circa News

Keyser Capital sold on March 7, 2017, Alarm Funding Associates, LLC to Riverside Partners' RPAFA Investors, LLC for $200 million netting pre-tax $70 million.

Former holdings

FanDuel Sports Network – Regional Networks formerly known as Fox Sports Networks. Sinclair formerly owned the regional sports networks via subsidiary Main Street Sports Group, a former joint venture with Allen Media Group. Main Street Sports Group was formerly known as Diamond Sports Group. Fox Sports' regional sports networks were acquired following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets. On March 31, 2021, the Fox Sports Networks were rebranded as Bally Sports. On October 21, 2024, the network was rebranded as FanDuel Sports Network. Sinclair's equity stake in Diamond Sports Group was extinguished in Diamond Sports Group's bankruptcy, with the new equity holders being its former creditors.

The FanDuel Sports Network app.

YES Network (2019) regional sports network acquired in 2019 alongside the Amazon and Yankee Global Enterprises. Yankee Global Enterprises is the majority owner; Amazon and Main Street Sports Group hold minority stakes. Sinclair used to hold a minority stake through its former subsidiary Diamond Sports Group, but lost that stake when its equity stake in Diamond Sports Group was extinguished in the Diamond Sports Group's bankruptcy case.

Ring of Honor (ROH), a professional wrestling promotion that was acquired by Sinclair in 2011. Sinclair sold the promotion's assets, video library, and other intellectual property to Tony Khan, through its subsidiary ROH Acquisition Co, LLC in 2022.

Honor Club (2018-2022), a streaming service that was launched on February 19, 2018.

Stadium (2014-2023), a sports programming distributor and internet network launched originally as American Sports Network on July 17, 2014, and rebranded to "Stadium" on August 21, 2017. Sinclair sold this in 2023 to Chicago White Sox owned media subsidiary Silver Chalice.

Stadium College Sports (2001-2023) digital cable networks SCS Atlantic, SCS Central, and SCS Pacific.

Stirr (2019-2024) is a free, ad-supported streaming service launched on January 16, 2019, and drew on programming from the Sinclair TV stations and other streaming live channels. Some programs were available on demand. Its main channel was Stirr City, which pulled content based on the user's selected location. When network programming ran on its local channel, Stirr City provided alternative programming. Sinclair sold the service in 2024, resulting in it losing its live-streaming functionality and access to Sinclair content and becoming strictly an On Demand service.

Affiliated companies

The companies listed below are separate corporations, effectively shell companies, formed to hold the licensed assets of television stations, where SBG would run afoul of FCC ownership regulations. Sinclair then signs local marketing agreements to actually control, operate, and program the stations, with the purposes of the shell merely to answer to the FCC and public about license matters, often with Sinclair's explicit input, unless so restricted by individual regulations against a station. Such arrangements are termed "sidecar agreements" by the FCC. The companies include, in addition to those mentioned in some detail below:

Deerfield Media

Howard Stirk Holdings is a licensing holding company formed to acquire certain television stations formerly owned by Barrington Broadcasting. It is owned by Armstrong Williams, founder and CEO of communications firm The Graham Williams Group.

Mercury Broadcasting Company – a company based in San Antonio, Texas that previously maintained local marketing agreements for its two stations with other companies; Sinclair took over the agreements for the stations in 2013. Sinclair purchased one of them outright, while its Wichita station KMTW remains under Mercury ownership, albeit operated by Sinclair under an LMA.

In 2021, Sinclair began to consolidate the major network affiliations on the DT1 channels held by Deerfield, HSH, Mercury and Cunningham stations onto the DT2 or DT3 subchannels of sister stations directly owned by Sinclair, effectively leaving many of the shell companies' stations to carry only subchannel networks, also known as diginets.

Cunningham Broadcasting

Cunningham Broadcasting, formerly known as Glencairn Ltd., is a station holding company affiliated with Sinclair Broadcast Group via a relationship with the company's owners. Per a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Cunningham is owned by the estate of Carolyn Beth Cunningham Smith (from whom the company derived its name), the estate of Sinclair's controlling shareholders' parent, and trusts for the children of Sinclair's controlling shareholders. All but one, (WYZZ-TV, managed by Nexstar) of Cunningham stations have local marketing agreements with Sinclair-owned/managed stations. Glencairn/Cunningham, based on ownership and agreements, has served merely as a shell corporation.