Sinclair Broadcast Group said it made a new distribution deal with CBS Stations that improves the major-market distribution of Sinclair’s digital multicast networks.

Most of the changes move a Sinclair network down the dial closer to where the most-watched major network affiliates can be found by over-the-air viewers. 

In some markets, the Sinclair networks also gain carriage on cable and satellite.

Comet moves to digital Channel 2.5 on WCBS New York, from Channel 33.6 on Weigel Broadcasting-owned MeTV affiliate WJLP Middletown Township, New Jersey.

In San Francisco, Comet is now on KPIX’s Channel 5.5 from Channel 44.2 on KPYX.  

Charge moves to Channel 9.3 on KCAL Los Angeles from Channel 56.6 on KDOC Anaheim, California.

In Chicago, Charge is now on Channel 2.5 on WBBM. Charge had been off the air in the Windy City.

Charge is on KYW’s Channel 3.5 in Philadelphia. It had been on Nexstar Media Group-owned WPHL’s Channel 17.4 

Also Read: With Ratings Surging, Sinclair Eyes Adding New Digital Net

“We are thrilled to announce the expansion of our networks’ distribution and the strengthening of our impactful partnership with CBS, showcasing our commitment to delivering compelling content to a broader audience across the U.S.,” Sinclair senior VP, distribution Lee Schlazer said.

Other distribution changes put Sinclair’s TBD on WBFS-TV’s Channel 33.6 in Miami, Channel 57.2 on WPSG-TV in Philadelphia and Channel 44.2 on KPYX-TV in San Francisco.

TBD also added 1 million cable homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

The Nest — recently converted from Stadium — appears on KCAL’s Channel 9.2 in Los Angeles and Channel 44.4 on KPYX in San Francisco.

Sinclair said it made a distribution deal with Hulu to beginning carrying Sinclair’s Tennis Channel, T2, Comet and Charge! to streaming subscribers.

The channels will be available on Hulu Plus Live TV starting in January.

Also Read: Sinclair Says Its Digital Networks Will Add 2.4 Million Homes This Year

Hulu Plus Live TV carries Sinclair’s TV stations under a separate agreement. Sinclair’s ABC affiliates were blacked out for about a month earlier this year as broadcast stations and networks worked out how carriage agreements with virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs) like Hulu Plus Live TV are handled

Hulu stopped carrying Sinclair’s regional sports networks in 2020. Diamond Sports, the Sinclair division that runs the RSN business, declared bankruptcy earlier this year.

Big viewing gains at Sinclair Broadcast Group's digital multicast networks have the company looking to expand its portfolio, adding another network as soon as next year.

In the third quarter, Sinclair's Charge jumped 32% in total day among 35-to-64-year-olds and TBD was up 27%, the two biggest gains among digital multicast networks, according to Nielsen. Sinclair's third network, Comet, was up 9%, making it No. 5. TBD and Charge each registered gains of more than 30% in prime. Comet posted a 31% increase in access.

"Digital broadcast television is on the rise as new viewers continue to discover a broad range of free over-the-air digital TV networks," Adam Ware, senior VP of Sinclair's Growth Networks Group, said.

The gains came as the networks added distribution and improved their programming slate, adding popular series like CSI: Miami and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to their schedules.

Ware told Broadcasting+Cable that instead of hoarding shows for streaming, studios are now more interested in selling to third-party networks like Charge and Comet.

"There's a lot of options out there for shows and there's not a lot of places where we can put those shows. Maybe we need to launch a fourth network," he said.

Ware wasn't kidding. "We've been looking pretty hard at 2023. That would be a good time to roll out another one," Ware said.

Ware notes that some studios are considering launching their own channels, both over-the-air digital and free ad-supported streaming television (FAST), but said they're better off working with an established operator like Sinclair. 

"We have the market size and the station footprint to be able to launch new networks," he said. And that's not even including the added bandwidth coming as ATSC 3.0 NextGen broadcasting ramps up. 

"We're bullish on 3.0 and a big component of 3.0 is the ability to add more channels," Ware said.

The new programming brought Buffy the Vampire Slayer to sci-fi oriented Comet, CSI: New York to Charge, which has shifted its focus from action shows to police procedurals; and World's Dumbest for TBD, which airs a lot of quick-bite, internet video-style programming.

Sinclair also secured additional distribution for the networks and upgraded carriage on lower-numbered digital channels on stronger stations. For example, Charge moved to Nexstar owned WFLA-TV in Tampa on digital channel 8.2.

More than 13 million new households came online in June and another 2 million are expected to join by the end of the year.

Sinclair has also been adding carriage of its growth networks as FAST channels, giving them a multi-platform profile.

"The TV component is where the growth is," Ware said. "FAST is a complementary addition and something you need to have, but by no means is a driver of your business."

Viewers who have cut the cord or bought a stripped-down pay TV package are going to broadcast to find some of the sports, news and entertainment programming they’re looking for on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates.

"They scan and all of a sudden they start discovering stuff on digital broadcast networks and the quality of those networks have only improved," Ware said.

Sinclair stations and other affiliates have also stepped up their marketing. Ware said the networks didn't reserve ad time for promos until this year. Sinclair's strategy was to promote primetime. Primetime ratings rose, but other dayparts showed significant gains as well. Viewers were spending more time on the networks and coming back more frequently.

On Halloween, Comet will mark its seventh anniversary with a special Buffy watch party on Twitch. The series' acclaimed musical episode will be featured and James Marsters, who played Spike on the series, will join Buffy influencers on the stream.

Ware said that in test runs of Buffy watch parties 15% of the 18- to 34-year-old audience Comet normally gets came to the watch party on Twitch.

More programming is on the way to the Sinclair networks. 

Comet will be adding Stargate SG-1, which had been the channel's most-viewed show when it launched as a joint venture with MGM, on January 16. Comet will also be airing episodes of The X-Files in daytime. Ware said there is less than 5% duplication between Comet's primetime and daytime audiences.

Other programming that will be coming online on Comet includes the Friday the 13th series, Tales From the Darkside and some Godzilla movies.

Charge will be getting Without a Trace and Elementary in March. More shows from the CSI franchise might also be finding their way to Charge.

Also: Sinclair Makes Deal with Producer Anthony Zuiker for Original Content

Digital broadcast is becoming more attractive to advertisers than FAST at this point, Ware said. For media buyers, "these are networks they're used to and they have shows they know and they can bet on," he said. "These are known commodities to them and that’s a much safer way for them to get their impressions than to start spreading their money out among streaming services."

Also: Upfront 2022: Sinclair Seeks 20% of Cable Budgets For Its Over the Air Channels

Digital broadcast now accounts for about 6% of viewing but collects only about 1% of total ad dollars, Ware said, which means the segment has a big opportunity to increase its revenues.

In the last upfront, the Sinclair growth networks saw increases in dollars committed and the number of advertisers buying in. New advertisers came from the pharmaceutical category, telcos and retailers.

"Advertisers are following viewers," Ware said. "That bodes quite well for this space." ■

Those digital over-the-air networks aren’t monkeying around anymore.

Sinclair Broadcast Group said its free over-the-air digital broadcast network Comet scored its highest ratings since its launch in 2015 with a marathon of Planet of the Apes films.

The April 3 marathon delivered 1.5 million total viewers from 5 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. ET, a record for the diginet., illustrating that cord-cutters aren’t just streaming but are using atenneas to get broadcast channels.

Comet, which focuses on science-fiction programming, broadcast Planet of the Apes, Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Escape from the Planet of the Apes

The marathon boosted Comet’s demographic ratings, with a 155% jump in adults 18-49, a 133% increase in adults 25-54 and a 96% gain among adults 35 to 64. Viewers over 50 nearly tripled, up 180%.

The results were so good that Comet is planning additional airings of its Planet of the Apes marathon on April 9, April 15 and April 23.

"While it's been widely recognized that viewers are leaving cable for OTT, it's important to  note viewers are also moving to new, free OTA broadcast networks, and 1.5 million viewers  is proof of this,”  said Adam Ware VP, Growth Networks and Content at Sinclair.  

“Comet is just getting started, and the network's line up of hit franchises  like Planet of the Apes, The X-Files, Quantum Leap, Farscape and more new fan favorite  series to be announced soon, reaffirm our commitment to delivering the best sci-fi  franchises for fans,” he said. ■

While many in the TV business are investing billions in subscription streaming services, big broadcasters are focusing on free over-the-air digital channels.

Sinclair Broadcast Group has been investing in its digital channels — Comet TV, Charge and TBD — and is seeing a healthy increase in advertising revenue since getting ratings from Nielsen and upgrading their programming. In June, for example, Charge is adding CSI: Miami to its schedule.

“What we’ve tried to do with these networks is level up the programming to make them general-market worthy,” Scott Ehrlich, Sinclair senior VP, growth networks and content, said.

Sinclair is calling its channels The Stack in their first-ever upfront presentations. The 70 one-on-one meetings are aimed at getting media buyers to understand that digital channels offer familiar programming and a growing number of consumers are looking for free entertainment.

“Cord-cutting isn’t necessarily our goal as a company, but over-the-air is a quickly growing segment of the audience,” Ehrlich said, noting that Sinclair generates significant revenue in retransmission consent for its stations and subscriber fees for its regional sports networks. 

“There’s a technology change coming that we’re highly invested in as a company that is certainly going to enhance the over-the-air experience,” he added, referring to NextGen TV.

Sinclair and other stations have started converting stations from the current broadcast format, ATSC, to the NextGen ATSC 3.0 standard. Sinclair expects half the country to be covered by ATSC 3.0 in 2022.

“This is a new part of the company and the part that’s obviously pretty exciting,” said Adam Ware, VP and general manager, national networks and platforms at Sinclair.

Multicasting Is Now a Business

Digital multicast channels have been around since the broadcast industry went digital in 2009. Most of the early channels subsisted on direct response advertising. More recently, larger broadcasters have been accumulating larger portfolios of channels.

The E.W. Scripps Co. bought Katz Broadcasting in 2017 for $292 million. Katz’s networks include Court TV, Bounce, Laff and Escape. It plans to launch two more channels, Defy and TrueReal, in June. Tegna launched Twist in April following its $77 million acquisition of Justice Network and Quest in 2019.

Comet TV launched in 2015. The science-fiction channel was owned by Sinclair and managed by MGM Television. In 2017, Sinclair and MGM launched Charge, which focused on action films with a sense of humor. Sinclair took over management of both channels in 2020. TBD, a youth-oriented channel, launched in 2016, owned by Sinclair and operated by Jukin Media.

Comet TV began getting Nielsen ratings in 2018, with Charge following in 2019 and TBD in 2020, letting the channels sell a mix of direct response and general-market advertising.

“General-market advertisers really started to look at these channels’ audiences, as opposed to the responsiveness of those audiences,” Ehrlich said. 

According to Nielsen, after Comet TV started airing episodes of The X-Files in the 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. time period, viewing among 18-to-49-year-olds rose 357% second quarter to date, compared to the first quarter. After TBD added Wipeout and Fear Factor from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., viewing in the demo rose 46% from Q1 and 103% from a year ago.

TBD in particular is more attractive to general-market advertisers because of its relatively young audience. Those young viewers were less likely to call an 800 number or log onto a website because of a direct response ad, Ehrlich said. The audiences of the channels are pretty distinct, he added.

Sinclair doesn’t break out revenue figures for its digital networks, but Ware said they’ve gotten a good response in the scatter market and revenues have exceeded the budget so far. 

Comet TV, Charge and TBD are also multiplatform with a presence on Stirr, Sinclair’s streaming service, where some of their programming is available on-demand nationally.

Ware said the opportunity for free-over-the air channels will expand as NextGen TV takes root. ATSC 3.0 promises bandwidth for stations to carry more networks and makes it easier for viewers to tune them in.

“All of a sudden you’ve got real capacity,” Ware said. Now is the time to be proactive and launch channels, build their brands and get more digital channels to market. “Some might be paid and some might be free,” he added.

More Nets in the Offing

Sinclair is looking to launch more networks. The company is using Stirr to test channel concepts with an eye towards them becoming distributed as digital OTA networks, Ware said.

At some point, the networks will produce original programming, Ehrlich said. TBD dipped its toe in the water with a clip show called The Link and interstitial content featuring David Hasselhoff, star of Knight Rider, which aired on Charge.

To some degree, the digital broadcast channels are mirroring the way cable channels were built in the 1980s, targeting genres such as science fiction and comedy and relying on off-broadcast programming until the market demands original series.

Digital channels will be easier to watch because they’re being integrated  with streaming channels in increasingly sophisticated smart TVs. But Ware warns, “If you don’t own a station group and you’re trying to do these, good luck.”

And channels are thriving because “there’s real content out there that people want to watch.” Ehrlich said. “I was sort of skeptical, a little bit, until I started to see the numbers.”

Continuing to build out the bundles of its four programming tiers, virtual pay TV operator Sony PlayStation Vue announced a series of minor channel additions today.

The national feeds of the Tennis Channel and Stadium will be added to the vMVPD’s $59.99-a-month Elite tier. Three Stadium Event channels will also be added to the sports add-on package.

Meanwhile, Comet TV will be added to the $49.99-a-month Core package.

The additions do not affect the $44.99 basic “Access” tier, not do they impact the highest end $79.99 Ultra bundle.

The latest channel additions come after Vue signed local affiliate deals with Sinclair and Tribune stations, and expanded its playability to Apple and Amazon devices. 

Comet TV, a science fiction broadcast network from Sinclair Television Group and Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, has launched apps for Apple TV (fourth gen) and the current batch of Roku devices.

Those apps will include Comet TV’s live broadcast feed, plus an integrated program guide.

In addition to those apps, Comet TV is still offered on over-the-air broadcast TV in more than 100 markets, as well as on the Web at www.comettv.com.

Comet TV, which debuted on Oct. 31, 2015, features a library of sci-fi fare that includes films such as The Crow, Gattaca and Labyrinth, classic Japanese Godzilla films, and TV series that include Mystery Science Theater 3000, Stargate Atlantis, and The Outer Limits. Stargate: SG1 is set to return to Comet TV in April.