This gallery contains 16 photos.
By Zack Phillips Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. 10706 Beaver Dam Road Hunt Valley, Maryland 21030 (410) 568-1500 http://www.sbgi.net ABOUT THE COMPANY [2]: Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG), founded in 1986, currently owns, operates, programs, or provides sales services to 163 … Continue reading
by Victoria Pane
[14]
Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc. is one of the largest broadcast companies to date. SBG owns and operates programs or provides sales services to 112 TV stations that span 61 markets nationwide. Sinclair Broadcasting Group reaches about 29.8% of U.S. TV households. Station affiliates include FOX, ABC, MyTV, CW, CBS, NBC, MTN and Azteca.
Headquarters Address: 10706 Beaver Dam Road, Hunt Valley, Maryland 21030
Telephone– (410)-568-1500
Social Media- Facebook LinkedIn
[15]
Executives
David Smith– Chief Executive Officer
David Amy-Chief Financial Officer
Steven Marks– Chief Operating Officer
Barry Faber-Executive Vice President
David Bochenek-Chief Accounting Officer
History
Located in Hunts Valley, Maryland, the Chesapeake Television Corporation was founded by Julian Sinclair Smith in 1971. Station ownership started in Baltimore (WBFF), Pittsburgh (WPTT/WPMY) and Columbus (WTTE). The last of the remaining stocks were bought by Smith’s four son is 1985 and since then the company has been named Sinclair Broadcasting Group. David B. Smith has served as
President and CEO since 1988, while the other three brothers hold various executive positions. With the help of the brothers the company has done nothing but grow in audience size and content range. The year 1995 changed it all when the company became publicly traded. Sinclair owns the majority of its stations, but they do operate some affiliates for the networks using local marketing agreements.
Picture above[16]
See all stations under Sinclair’s control here
Picture Right [17]
Recent News
Since the beginning of the New Year SBG has been placing new General Managers in many of its markets across the country. On January 2, 2013. Noreen Parker was named GM of WTTA-TV (MY TV Tampa Bay) in Tampa, Florida. On January 3rd Sinclair announced that Jim Lapiana would be the new GM of WPGH-TV (Fox 53) and WPMY-TV (MNT 22) in Pittsburgh. Also on January 3rd Ronna Corrente was named GM of WDKY-TV (Fox 31) in Lexington, Kentucky. And lastly on March 7th, Terry Gaughan was named GM of WCGV-TV (My 24) and WVTV-TV (CW 18) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Another major piece of employee news is Steve Pruett joined senior management team as Chief Operating Officer of Chesapeake TV. Pruett has meny years of experience in the media, up until recently he was the CEO of Communication Corporations of America (CCA). Along with being the COO of Sinclair Television Group in the mid-sized market, Marks will also oversee the Company’s most recent strategy for small markets.
During February, Sinclair Broadcasting Group made a deal hoping to create initiative for small market television. The company signed an agreement to purchase stock and broadcasting assets of four television stations owned by COX Media Group. The deal was set for $99 million. These stations operate four different markets and reach about 0.9% of U.S. TV households. David Smith, President and CEO of Sinclair was quoted: “Over the past 18 months, we have led the industry’s consolidation efforts in the mid-sized markets, purchasing 30 TV stations and creating over $400 million of equity value. We believe our platform size and leadership position allow us to bring meaningful purchasing power and negotiating leverage to these stations. Including synergies, we believe the CMG stations can generate approximately $20 million of cash flow, on average.”
[6]
Also in February of this year, Sinclair reached an agreement with DirecTV regarding the retransmission consent agreement. They have entered a short-term extension to the existing contract so that both parties will be able to enter into a formal agreement. In conclusion, DirecTV will continue to carry all of Sinclair’s stations.
On February 28th SBG announced an agreement to purchase 18 television stations owned by Barrington Broadcast Group, LLC for $370 million. It also entered agreements to operate or provide sales services for another six stations. These 24 stations are located in 15 different markets and reach 3.4% of U.S TV households. David Smith commented: “This week, we launched our small market television group when we announced we would be acquiring certain of the COX Media television stations. The Barrington stations are an important part of that strategy, providing meaningful scale to the group. Including synergies, we believe the Barrington stations can generate approximately $71 million of cash flow, on average.”
[8]
Conflicts with FCC ownership rules have forced Sinclair to sell its station WSYT (Fox) in Syracuse, NY and assign its local marketing agreement and purchasing option on WNYS (MNT) in Syracuse. The Company also sold its station WYZZ (Fox) in Peoria, IL. The license assets of four stations will be bought by Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation and Howard Stirk Holdings (newly formed and controlled by Armstrong Williams who is the founder and CEO of Graham Williams Group).
On April 2nd, SBG announced its full support of MobileDTV. Over the next six months, the Company will being to broadcast 10 mobile-cable signals in nine different markets. This is in partnership with Cunningham Broadcasting Company that broadcasts two stations in Columbus, Ohio (WSYX-TV and WTTE-TV). Consumers in these markets will be able to use MobileDTV on their smartphones or tablets to enjoy local over-the-air broadcasting for free simply by installing a plug-in adaptor. Sinclair has long been a mobile tv advocate has committed to offer some FOX affiliates on this developing platform. MobileDTV is expected to help with targeted advertising and the TV anywhere anytime for consumers.
Find a list of available stations and markets here.
SBGI Financial Reports
[13]
Sinclair announced its first quarter of 2013 estimates of a net broadcast revenue of about $251.9 millon to $254.9 millon. Also an EBITDA of approximately $90.3 million to $93.3 million. The Board of Directors declared a $0.15 dividend to all Class A and B stock holders as of close on March 1st, 2013. The dividend became payable on March 15th.
Listen to the First Quarter Earnings Webcast and Conference call here
Financial Events Calendar
May 1, 2013- First Quarter 2013 Earnings Report
June 6, 2013- Annual Shareholders Meeting
August 7, 2013- Second Quarter Earnings Report
November 6, 2013- Third Quarter 2013 Earnings Report
Industry Conferences
March 4-6 dbAccess Media, Internet and Telecom Conference Palm Beach, FL.
April 8-9 Wells Fargo Investor Forum at NAB Las Vegas, NV.
May 7-9 Jefferies 2013 Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference The Westin, NYC
May 20-22 Barclay’s High Yield and Syndicated Loan Conference Chicago, IL.
May 30th– The Benchmark One on One Investor Conference Milwaukee, WI.
Sept 30-Oct 2 Deutsche Bank’s 21st Annual Leveraged Finance Conference Scottsdale AZ.
Sources
1.http://www.sbgi.net/about/history.shtml
2.http://www.sbgi.net/about/profile.shtml
3.http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/Parker%20Tampa_kv9j79fq.shtml
4.http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/Lapiana%20Pittsburgh_nf4w27hf.shtml
5.http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/Corrente%20Lexington_y574z5b9.shtml
6.http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/_q81qytdm.shtml
7.http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/_8tv8hrf9.shtml
8.http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/_7xfvjv6f.shtml
9.http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/_vhm639mg.shtml
12.http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/MobileDTV13_t7j41d11.shtml
13.http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SBGI.O
14/15.http://www.sbgi.net/
16.http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-david-smith-2010-photo,0,4271489.photo
S. Catherine McCabe
Sinclair Broadcasting Group
– Image courtesy of sbgi.net
Overview
The Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Baltimore, Maryland, is a diverse television broadcasting company, which owns and operates over one hundred stations in over sixty markets around the country. It also provides programming and sales services for its stations under local market agreements (LMA), a concept that was pioneered by SBG in the 1990s. It reaches almost 30% of households in the United States and is one of the biggest broadcasting groups in the country. [1]
History
The Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., was founded in 1986 by the four sons of Julian Sinclair Smith, a pioneer in ultra high frequency (UHF) television broadcasting. Julian Smith started the company as the Chesapeake Television Corporation in 1971; under which name Sinclair broadcasted one of the first UHF stations in the country from their flagship station WBFF-TV. UHF broadcasting immediately became a major part in the television industry and started to become more involved with their father’s company in the 1980s.
Julian Smith’s sons began acquiring other UHF stations and quickly saw the Chesapeake Television Corporation become a major consolidator in the industry. The name was changed to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1985. In 1990 the Smith brothers bought the remaining shares of SBG, owned by their parents, and immediately began acquiring more stations. It was not long before SBG became one of the largest media distributers in the country. [2]
– Image courtesy of jhu.edu
Smith Brothers
David D. Smith
David D. Smith is currently serving as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Sinclair Broadcast Group and has held the position since 1988. He was a major part it’s founding in 1986 and has help a position on the Board of Directors since. Before Sinclair, Smith was an officer and director at Comark Communications, a manufacturer of high power transmitters for UHF television companies, which he founded. [3]
Frederick G. Smith
Dr. Frederick G. Smith was an oral and maxillofacial surgeon before coming to Sinclair as the Vice President. He took that position in 1990 and has served on the Board of Directors since 1986. Dr. Smith also serves as a director or trustee of Sinclair Ventures, Inc., the Freven Foundation, Gerstell Academy, University of Maryland at Baltimore Foundation, St. Joseph’s Hospital, The Sinclair Relief Fund, Bay Television Inc., Cunningham Communications Inc., Gerstell Development, LP, Keyser Investment Group, Inc. and Beaver Dam, LLC. [3]
J. Duncan Smith
J. Duncan Smith who started off building and operating television stations in Pittsburgh, PA; Columbus, OH; Bloomington, IN; and multiple cities in Florida, now serves as the Vice President, Secretary and a Director of Sinclair. He has been with Sinclair since it’s founding in 1986. Before Sinclair, Duncan also worked with David at Comark Communications. [3]
Robert E. Smith
Robert E. Smith served as the Vice President and Treasurer of Sinclair from 1988 to 1998. he later resigned from this position to shift focus to a commercial real estate investment firm which he started. He still holds a position on the Board of Directors which he has held since 1986. Before Sinclair, Robert also worked at Comark Communications with his brothers. [3]
Affiliates
-Image courtesy of sbgi.net
Sinclair has stations in over sixty markets across the country and they have agreements with 8 different networks. These include 27 FOX, 20 MyTV, 20 CW, 17 ABC, 15 CBS, 11 NBC, 1 Azteca and 1 Independent affiliate. [4]
Investments
In the past Sinclair has made very strategic investments over a variety of different industries. They currently hold interest in over five different companies. These include: [5]
-Image courtesy of sbgi.net
-Image courtesy of sbgi.net
-Image courtesy of sbgi.net
-Image courtesy of sbgi.net
– Image courtesy of sbgi.net
– Image courtesy of sbgi.net
Bay Creek a planned community on almost 1,800 acres surrounding Cape Charles.
-Image courtesy of sbgi.net
In Recent News
On May 21st, 2011 Sinclair announced the acquisition of the “Ring of Honor” wrestling franchise. It is the third largest wrestling promotion in the country. Sinclair believes their backing and the power of the relationship between television and wrestling will allow ROH to become a household brand. It will premiere on Sinclair’s vast network of stations, as well as access for people outside of their markets online. ROH will be led by Chief Operating Officer, Joe Koff who was previously the director of sales at Sinclair Broadcasting Group. [6]
On September 8th, 2011 it was announced that Sinclair would be purchasing Four Points Media group for $200 million from affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. In this deal they acquired seven different stations from five extremely strong markets in Salt Lake City, West Palm Beach Austin, Texas and Providence, Rhode Island. The acquisition was finalized in January 2012 when they finally received approval from the FCC. [7] [8]
On November 2nd, 2011 Sinclair purchased the broadcast assets of Freedom Communications for $385 million. Freedom Communications reaches over 2% of households over seven different markets. The FCC granted them approval for this deal on March 13, 2012 even though Sinclair had already been managing all of Freedom Communications’ stations since December of 2011. [9]
On February 28th, 2013, Sinclair acquired 24 stations from Barrington Broadcasting Group, LLC. for $370 million. Sinclair will buy 18 of the 24 stations and then will operate and provide sales services for the other 6 stations. They are currently waiting on approval of the FCC and antitrust clearance. However, due to FCC rules, Sinclair has chosen to sell it’s FOX affiliate in Syracuse, NY. They will then purchase a MNT affiliate in Syracuse under a local marketing agreement. Sinclair also announced the purchase certain COX Media stations. They are predicting the combination of these two deals will result in about $232 million of increased equity and $2.85 per share. [10]
Sinclair Broadcast Group has a history of struggling to come to retransmission agreements with the different cable providers. In the past they have had issues with both Time Warner Cable and Comcast and most recently they have finished negotiations with Dish Network and DirecTV. During their negotiations with the Dish Network, Sinclair threatened to black out over seventy channels if they did not come to an agreement by August 13, 2012. Dish Network claimed that Sinclair was charging more than any other broadcaster to carry their channels and Sinclair had doubts of whether or not they would be able to come to an agreement. They did not reach an agreement until August 16, 2012, but fortunately there was no lost signal during the extension. Similar circumstances surrounded their retransmission agreement with DirecTV, however they were able to come to an agreement just hours before 87 channels were due to go black. This deal was made on February 28, 2013. [11] [12]
Sources:
[1] SBG Company Profile http://www.sbgi.net/about/profile.shtml
[2] SBG History http://www.sbgi.net/about/history.shtml
[3] SBG Directors http://www.sbgi.net/corp_governance/directors.shtml
[4] SBG Affiliates http://www.sbgi.net/business/television.shtml
[5] SBG Investments http://www.sbgi.net/business/ventures.shtml
[6] SBG News Release- Ring of Honor Acquired http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/ROH-2_9c2yxbl4.shtml
[7] TV News Check- Four Points Media Acquisition http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/53840/sinclair-buys-four-points-media-for-200m
[8] TV News Check-Four Points Media Acquisition http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/56431/sinclair-closes-four-points-media-acquisition
[10] SBG News Release- Barrington Broadcast Acquisition http://www.sbgi.net/site_mgr/temp/_7xfvjv6f.shtml
[11] The Daily News- Sinclair TV Blackout http://thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_6b4bfd54-e61e-11e1-8cf8-001a4bcf887a.html
[12] TV News Check- Sinclair and DirecTV deal http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/65829/sinclair-and-directv-make-retrans-deal
by Steven Geer
Logo courtesy of www.sbg.net
Headquarters – 10706 Beaver Dam Road, Hunt Valley, Maryland 21030
Telephone – (410)-568-1500
Social Media – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter (@sbgi)
Brief History
David B. Smith, President & CEO – Photo courtesy of Nicholas Griner, Baltimore Business Journal
Sinclair Broadcasting Group is a telecommunications company located in Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA. Founded as Chesapeake Television Corporation in 1971 by Julian Sinclair Smith, its station ownership started in Balitmore (WBFF), Pittsburgh (WPTT/WPMY) and Columbus (WTTE). In 1985, the remaining stocks of the business were bought out by Smith’s four sons and its name was changed to Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Since 1988, David B. Smith has served as President & CEO while the remaining brothers hold executive positions as well. Their leadership brought the company to a new level, expanding both its audience reach and content variety. In 1995, the company became publicly traded on NASDAQ with the symbol SBGI [1][2].
Sinclair Broadcasting was a pioneer of local marketing agreements in the early 1990’s. Though many stations are owned and operated by Sinclair, others are affiliated through LMA’s. Sinclair’s stations are affiliated with major networks like Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC. Also, this company was one of the first to experiment with “prepackaged” news programs, produced by the news organization, News Central [3].
Sinclair has a diverse array of holdings outside telecommunications as well. Ring of Honor Wrestling is just one of their many subsidiaries. They air the content they produce in certain markets and upload some episodes to YouTube.
Here is Ring Of Honor Episode 54 from October 11, 2012:
Recent Acquisitions and News
A buying spree in 2011 and early 2012 added the assets of Four Points Media Group, the Freedom Communications stations group, and six stations from Newport Television [4][5][6]. Sinclair Broadcast Group now operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States.
Their most recent acquisitions closed December 1, 2012 and include stations in new and previously established markets. In addition to increasing the audience reach of Sinclair 3%, these purchases also increased the number of affiliated stations in Sinclair’s portfolio. Some of the stations now owned by Sinclair are WTTA (MNT) Tampa, KBTV (FOX) Beaumont, WKRC (CBS) Cincinnati, WOAI (NBC) San Antonio, WHP (CBS) Harrisburg, WPMI (NBC) and WJTC (IND) Mobile, KSAS (FOX) Wichita, and WHAM (ABC) Rochester.
See all of Sinclair’s holdings and their information here.
Sinclair’s Markets – Map courtesy of Sinclair Broadcast Group
The failure of New Central and Sinclair’s profile as a “profit first, journalism second” broadcaster prompted the company to shift its focus to quality news in local markets. Sinclair’s recent acquisitions included many local news stations, atypical purchases for the company, but smart because of their powerful local presence. Sinclair has even joined the National Association of Broadcasters, a sign that they’re willingness to participate in Washington alongside competitors [7].
Hurricane Sandy had a large impact on many viewers in Sinclair’s markets, creating an opportunity for the company to serve its local constituents. During the storm, Sinclair provided non-stop coverage by “simulcasting” the news programs online. This allowed those without power to access it using mobiles phones and tablets. Online streaming and other technology platforms are being considered at Sinclair Group. Chief tech executive Del Parks spoke for the company claiming that the multiscreen experience is, “a very personal thing for our news operations.” Simulcasting was also used this fall in local office campaigns within certain Sinclair markets by streaming town hall debates on their website [8].
On November 13, 2012 it was announced that Sinclair Broadcasting would be partnering with Datasphere, a technology company aimed at small business solutions in major media and reaching the hyperlocal market. Sinclair’s television station websites will be retrofitted with Datasphere’s event calendars for local event lists in each market. An example of this calendar can be seen on WBFF Baltimore’s event website. This will be used alongside a whole new technology platform at Sinclair Group. It is a full-sized service that connects local small businesses to media companies for advertising needs. Datasphere’s services will be introduced into 21 markets including Austin, Baltimore, Columbus, Dayton, Nashville and San Antonio [9].
Sinclair attends many industry conferences. Their next conference is the JP Morgan Global HYLFC in Miami Beach, February 25-27, 2013.
Financial Overview
Sinclair’s income statement for December 2, 2012 shows the stock price settling at $11.03; this is still low compared to their period of $14.00+ shares back in 2003-2004. This company has battled through the economic recession, however, showing staggering growth in returns over a three year period. In fact, they’ve quadrupled the 3 year return percentage of their competitor Belo Corporation from 2009 to 2012 [10].
SBGI Total Returns Comparison
Chart courtesy of www.ycharts.com
Three year returns are a significant figure for a long-term shareholder of this company. High returns indicate a growing business. Sinclair has rebounded from the recession and continues to show steady growth.
High third quarter revenues this year were reported following Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath. The 44% increase from $181 million to $260 million was attributed to political advertising associated with the campaign season and a spike in automotive advertising on Sinclair’s stations. After reaching retransmission agreements with networks like Comcast and Dish, Sinclair found that higher retransmissions revenues also contributed to the figure [11][12].
Hear or watch the rebroadcast of the 3rd quarter 2012 earnings results here.
Sinclair’s financial calendar is as follows:
Controversies
Sinclair Broadcasting, though successful and respected in the industry, is not immune to scrutiny by its competition and the public eye. The company is known for blatantly taking sides on social and political issues including political campaigns. A conservative bias can be noticed in the programming Sinclair chooses to air around election time. Even so, they deny any partisanship and claim to only be informing and engaging the public.
Photo courtesy of cbs12.com
The 2012 Presidential Campaign was another opportunity for Sinclair to garner the profits of political advertising at the cost of their audience’s scheduled news programming. The decision to preempt regular programs in order to air the “ABC 6 Election Special – VOTE 2012” didn’t sit well with supporters of Obama [13]. The special was aired in markets all located in battleground states.
A writer for The Baltimore Sun wrote in an article that, “the only thing that was lower than the attack-ad-dominated style of campaigning by both sides was the performance of an increasingly superficial and partisan press,” [14][15]. Sinclair has since rejected the criticism, claiming that the specials were focused on the issues and not so much the candidates, and that the markets where they were aired had more “news value.” [16]
Watch a recap of the election special here.
In a dispute with Dish Network this past August, Sinclair was ready to black out 74 of its stations carried by Dish when they wouldn’t accept a new retransmission agreement. A public exchange of words between the two companies resulted in high tensions and little motivation for Sinclair to bargain with the distributor. Dish claimed that Sinclair was charging more than any other broadcaster, resulting in higher subscription fees for customers. Sinclair, however, views retransmission fees as an important resource for the company. A multi-year consent agreement was finally reached after several weeks. Sinclair has become increasingly aggressive towards television providers and retransmission fees. Similar disputes between Mediacom, Time Warner, and Comcast all ended with agreements favoring Sinclair [17].
Sources
[1]: http://www.sbgi.net/about/history.shtml
[2]: http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/sbgi
[3]: http://www.sbgi.net/about/profile.shtml
[4]: http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/473517-Sinclair_Grabs_Four_Points_Stations_for_200_Mil.php
[5]: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/19/sinclairbroadcast-acquisition-idUSL4E8IJ3M120120719
[6]: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/19/us-sinclairbroadcast-acquisition-idUSBRE86I0OY20120719
[7]: http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/481963-Local_TV_s_Death_Star_Gets_in_Sync.php
[8]: http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/63574/second-screens-now-a-necessity-at-sinclair
[9]: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/13/4981878/datasphere-teams-up-with-sinclair.html
[10]: http://ycharts.com/companies/SBGI/performance
[12]: http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/490194-Sinclair_Revenue_Up_49_.php
[15]: http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=21681
[16]: http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/63412/sinclair-rejects-criticism-of-election-specials
[17]: http://www.deadline.com/2012/08/dish-network-sinclair-retransmission-agreement/
Links
http://www.linkedin.com/company/13038?trk=tyah
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sinclair-Broadcast-Group/112322242116588?ref=ts&fref=ts
https://twitter.com/sbgi
http://http//www.sbgi.net/corp_governance/directors.shtml#David_Smith
http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/sbgi
http://www.sbgi.net/business/markets/all.shtml
http://www.rohwrestling.com/
http://www.nab.org/
http://datasphere.com/
http://events.foxbaltimore.com/
http://www.sbgi.net/investors/calendar.shtml
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=sbgi+Income+Statement&annual
http://www.belo.com/
http://www.sbgi.net/investors/webcasts.shtml
http://www.sbgi.net/investors/calendar.shtml
http://www.cbs12.com/news/features/vote/local/#
http://www.baltimoresun.com/