Sinclair Broadcast Group has announced the further proliferation of its digital multicast channels, proliferating action-adventure-themed Charge! onto seven more of its stations, while sci-fi oriented Comet will add 12 Sinclair outlets.
Starting Thursday, Charge tacks on KATU Portland, Oregon; KUTV Salt Lake City; WLTV Jacksonville; WJAR Providence, Rhode Island; KOLD Tucson, Arizona; and WJAC Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Comet will be added to KUTV and WLTV, as well as KSNV Las Vegas; WANT Memphis, Tennessee; WBIR Knoxville, Tennessee; KREM Spokane, Washington; KMSB Tucson; WZDX Huntsville, Alabama; KCEN Waco, Texas; KECI Missoula, Montana; WTOV Wheeling, Illinois; and KTVM Butte, Montana.
In terms of over-the-air distribution, Comet is now available in 104 of the top 125 U.S. TV markets. Charge! is in 95 of the top 125 markets.
Comet is also available nationally via Dish Network and Sling TV. CHARGE! is available nationally via Sling.
Also read: Sinclair Over-The-Air Networks Add 14 Million Households Through Distribution Upgrades
Sinclair said in June that its digital broadcast networks — Comet, Charge! and TBD — will reach an additional 14 million homes by September through a series of upgrades and new affiliations in the top 50 markets.
The right-leaning broadcast group hasn't disclosed how much revenue it's making from digital channels. But station groups as a whole have steadily developed these channels — found in the .2 - .9 decimal points on your TV dial — into networks that no longer carry just direct-response promotional advertising.
The risk, meanwhile, appears to be a bit more favorable than launching channels into an ultra-competitive FAST market.
Sinclair launched Comet in partnership with MGM in 2015. In June, the channel started stripping classic series Buffy the Vampire Slayer weeknights from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. ET, pairing it with the long-established The X-Files, which runs from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Also in June, CSI: New York was added to Charge!'s primetime lineup, where it was paired with CSI: Miami.
Sinclair said that primetime viewership was up double digits for both networks. ▪️
