Sinclair Revenue Up 23.5%

Sinclair Broadcast Group reported fourth quarter 2010 net broadcast revenue of $189.9 million, a 23.5% increase over the same quarter a year before. Net broadcast revenues for the year were up 18.2%. 

Political revenues drove the growth. Sinclair reported $26.8 million in fourth quarter political advertising. For the year, political revenue was up almost 35% over the 2006 total, and up 2% over the presidential 2008 total. 

"2010 ended on an even stronger note than originally anticipated with record levels of political advertising helping to drive net broadcast revenues up 23.5% in the quarter," commented David Smith, president and CEO of Sinclair. "For the year, excluding political, revenues from our core television business finished up 12.0% led by the automotive recovery. We expect to see continued improvement in our core advertising, driving our top-line in 2011."

Sinclair reported entering into a news share agreement with Time Warner Cable, which will see TWC provide a 6:30 a.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. news Monday through Friday on WXLV Greensboro, an ABC affiliate. That starts in January 2012. It's uncommon for a cable operator to produce news for a broadcast station. 

The arrangement for Gannett's KSKD St. Louis to produce news for Sinclair's KDNL, also cited in the earnings report, is more common.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.