Sinclair Broadcast Group is reportedly considering selling more than 30% of its broadcast stations according to CNBC.
The broadcast group, which owns 185 stations in 86 markets has already identified about 60 stations it could sell, according to CNBC’s source, who added that the station group has hired Moelis to broker the transactions. The stations are affiliates of Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS and the CW and if sold together their average revenue for 2023 and 2024 is an estimated $1.56 billion, according to the source. The stations are located in Minneapolis; Portland, Ore.; Pittsburgh; Austin, Texas and Fresno, Calif., among others. Bloomberg has previously reported that the company is also considering a sale of the Tennis Channel.
Sinclair has not responded to inquiries from TV Tech.
Sinclair, which reportedly began shopping the stations in February, has lost more than 70% of its market value in the last five years, CNBC said, with its market capitalization at about $975 million with an enterprise value of about $4.7 billion.
Sinclair reported its latest earnings last week and while advertising revenue rose by 4% in Q1 2024, core advertising excluding political was down by 3% YoY. The station group said it has pre-booked $77 million in political advertising for the second half of the year through Election Day. This is more than three times the $21 million it had booked in the last presidential election cycle as of May 1, 2020 and much more than the $28 million as of May 1, 2022.
Last year Sinclair split itself into two entities, one focused solely on the broadcast stations and the other focused on new tech ventures. In January, its Diamond Sports Group inked a deal with Amazon to keep its troubled Bally Sports regional sports network operating after Diamond filed for bankruptcy in 2023.
The company is also actively lobbying the FCC to update its local broadcast ownership rules, claiming that current rules hurt local journalism and hinder its ability to maximize the value of its stations.
