With NBC considering giving its final hour of primetime back to affiliates, many station groups are thinking about how to take best advantage of any additional time. L-r: Chris Ripley, Valari Staab, Jordan Wertlieb and Catherine Badalamente (Alyssa Wesley photo)
NBCUniversal Local’s Valari Staab, Graham Media Group’s Catherine Badalamente, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Chris Ripley and Hearst Television’s Jordan Wertlieb will share their outlook for 2023 and weigh in on the industry’s most crucial challenges in TVNewsCheck’s annual station group leaders panel at TV2025 on Oct. 19 at the NAB New York Show. Register here.
Sinclair Broadcast Group says it plans to create more original content and use the digital tools available to engage viewers and create revenue opportunities. “The creation of new content continues to be a priority for our company,” said Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley, speaking on the company’s 2Q earnings call Wednesday. “The new content will appear on one or multiple Sinclair platforms or might even be sold to third parties,” Ripley said.
Stark political divisions in the U.S. have caused a surge in TV ad spending, with primary races in Ohio, Pennsylvania and other key states pointing to a massive haul in the upcoming fall midterms. One key beneficiary of that influx of cash is Sinclair Broadcast Group, the No. 2 owner of local TV stations in the U.S. The company’s CEO, Chris Ripley, offered his outlook on political ads and other topics in an appearance at the MoffettNathanson 9th Annual Media and Communications Summit.
Attendance may have been almost halved by the pandemic, but tech vendors felt the more intimate environment allowed them to conduct business on a more productive level. On the show floor, the continued shift of broadcast workflows to the public cloud dominated many discussions, while others focused on NextGen TV’s pressing need to monetize.
CEO Chris Ripley Likes Sinclair’s Gamble On Local Content
Sinclair President and CEO Chris Ripley tlks about some of the industry’s big-picture issues, including retransmission consent, consolidation, regional sports networks, NextGen TV technology and stations getting into the national news business.
Exclusives
The chief executives of E.W. Scripps, Sinclair, Graham Media and Allen Media see brighter days coming in 2021 with the prospect of the Supreme Court quashing outdated ownership rules and M&A activity heating up, along with core advertising bouncing back from the pandemic. Read the story and/or watch the full video above.
Leaders from Sinclair, E.W. Scripps, Graham Media and Entertainment Studios will share their outlook on a momentous year and its implications for revenue prospects, M&A, NextGen TV and an evolving relationship with the networks at TVNewsCheck’s virtual conference TV2025: Monetizing the Future on Oct. 21. Register here.
Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley apologized to employees Tuesday for having to endure what he called “politically motivated attacks” over the right-leaning media company’s recent promos, which drew widespread criticism for echoing President Trump’s attacks on the “fake” news media.
CEOs Talk Ratings, Automated Ad Biz, NFL
The top executives of four TV station groups assessed the state of the TV broadcasting business (l-r: Hearst’s Jordan Wertlieb, NBC’s Valari Staab, Tegna’s Dave Lougee and Sinclair’s Chris Ripley). Among their topics were the future of audience measurement including specific-device measurement built into the ATSC 3.0 standard; why automated buying and selling of TV ads has been so slow to be adopted; and the changing value of sports programming, especially NFL games. (Photo: Wendy Moger-Bross)
Of the many challenges Fox News Channel is facing amid a turbulent year, there’s one threat Rupert Murdoch can cross off the list: Sinclair Broadcast Group has no plans to launch a rival conservative-friendly TV network. Chris Ripley, CEO of the Hunt Valley, Md.-based TV-station giant, is ready to end months of speculation that his company was preparing to mount a competitive threat in the wake of its $3.9 billion deal to acquire Tribune Media in May.
