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US media company Sinclair Broadcast Group has recorded a 47 per cent increase in total yearly revenues to US$1.125 billion, for which the majority of growth is attributed to its sports portfolio since acquiring 22 regional sports networks (RSN) from Disney.
Chris Ripley, Sinclair’s chief executive, has revealed to investors that 75 per cent of the company’s income is created through its sports and news programming, and is now “weighed heavily toward sports”.
Compared to its financial statements at the end of September 2018, Sinclair’s overall revenue has grown from US$766 million.
Although its advertising and distribution revenues generated by Sinclair’s news content (US$651 million) still account for the majority of the company’s income, Sinclair’s sports segment accounted for more than 98 per cent (US$352 million) of its revenue growth in the 12 months since.
Ripley has also confirmed that the group is planning to increase its ownership of the 24/7 multi-platform Stadium sports network, which going forward will “supply upgraded content” for Sinclair’s RSNs at a “less expensive price”.
Stadium was formed in May 2017 in a joint venture with Sinclair’s former American Sports Network (ASN) division and two US TV streaming services, Campus Insiders and 120 Sports. Both Campus Insiders and 120 Sports are co-owned by Silver Chalice, the digital and media investment subsidiary owned by Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Chicago White Sox.
“Starting at about the one-year mark from our [RSNs] acquisition, we expect to start achieving some of the synergies we spoke about,” Ripley said during an investor’s call on 6th November.
“When we announced the RSNs, the US$100 million plus of synergies will be powered by content from Stadium, which will be an upgrade from what is on there today.”
Sinclair paid more than US$14billion to secure all 22 former Fox networks from Disney that were auctioned off as part of the latter’s asset US$71.3 billion takeover. Sinclair’s deal included paying US$3.47 billion for the YES Network, in an arrangement where it split Disney’s 80 per cent share with technology giant Amazon. The New York Yankees MLB franchise owns the remaining 20 per cent of the network.
Along with the revenue update, Sinclair has announced a multi-year carriage agreement with Mediacom Communications for the Marquee Sports Network (MSN), the new RSN being launched in 2020 in partnership with the Chicago Cubs. This deal expands MSN access in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa.
In its latest partnership, Sinclair this week secured a multi-year carriage agreement with UK-based agency MediaCom to distribute its Marquee Sports Network (MSN), which is due to launch in February 2020 and will be devoted exclusively to MLB’s Chicago Cubs baseball franchise. It comes shortly after AT&T agreed a deal to carry MSN via its satellite service DirecTV, as well its AT&T TV and U-verse streaming platforms.
Cubs president of business operations, Crane Kenney, said: “When you combine this deal with AT&T, we can guarantee that Cubs fans in our home territory across Chicago and the Midwest will have the ability to access the network next year.”
US media company Sinclair Broadcast Group has recorded a 47 per cent increase in total yearly revenues to US$1.125 billion, for which the majority of growth is attributed to its sports portfolio since acquiring 22 regional sports networks (RSN) from Disney.
Chris Ripley, Sinclair’s chief executive, has revealed to investors that 75 per cent of the company’s income is created through its sports and news programming, and is now “weighed heavily toward sports”.
Compared to its financial statements at the end of September 2018, Sinclair’s overall revenue has grown from US$766 million.
Although its advertising and distribution revenues generated by Sinclair’s news content (US$651 million) still account for the majority of the company’s income, Sinclair’s sports segment has accounted for more than 98 per cent of its revenue growth in the 12 months since.
Ripley also confirmed that the group is planning to increase its ownership of the 24/7 multi-platform Stadium sports network, which going forward will “supply upgraded content” for Sinclair’s RSNs at a “less expensive price”.
Stadium was formed in May 2017 in a joint venture with Sinclair’s former American Sports Network (ASN) division and two US TV streaming services, Campus Insiders and 120 Sports.
Both Campus Insiders and 120 Sports are co-owned by Silver Chalice, the digital and media investment subsidiary owned by Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Chicago White Sox.
“Starting at about the one-year mark from our [RSNs] acquisition, we expect to start achieving some of the synergies we spoke about,” Ripley said during an investor’s call on 6th November.
“When we announced the RSNs, the US$100 million plus of synergies will be powered by content from Stadium, which will be an upgrade from what is on there today.”
Sinclair paid more than US$14billion to secure all 22 former Fox networks from Disney that were auctioned off as part of the latter’s asset US$71.3 billion takeover. Sinclair’s deal included paying US$3.47 billion for the YES Network, in an arrangement where it split Disney’s 80 per cent share with technology giant Amazon. The New York Yankees MLB franchise owns the remaining 20 per cent of the network.
Along with the revenue update, Sinclair has announced a multi-year carriage agreement with Mediacom Communications for the Marquee Sports Network (MSN), the new RSN being launched in 2020 in partnership with the Chicago Cubs. This deal expands MSN access in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa.
In its latest partnership, Sinclair this week secured a multi-year carriage agreement with UK-based agency MediaCom to distribute its Marquee Sports Network (MSN), which is due to launch in February 2020 and will be devoted exclusively to MLB’s Chicago Cubs baseball franchise. It comes shortly after AT&T agreed a deal to carry MSN via its satellite service DirecTV, as well its AT&T TV and U-verse streaming platforms.
Cubs president of business operations, Crane Kenney, said: “When you combine this deal with AT&T, we can guarantee that Cubs fans in our home territory across Chicago and the Midwest will have the ability to access the network next year.”
