Sinclair 1Q Media Revenue Climbs 13%

Sinclair Broadcast Group today reported that in the three months ended March 31, its media revenues, before barter, increased 13.4% to $602.5 million versus $531.3 million in the first quarter of 2016.

The company’s 1Q total revenues increased 12.3% to $649.9 million, versus $578.9 million in the prior year period.

Breaking down the 1Q media revenue:

• Political revenues were $2.1 million versus $24.4 million in the first quarter of 2016.

• Revenues from digital offerings increased 25% in the first quarter as compared to the first quarter of 2016.

The company’s 1Q operating income was $157.6 million, including a gain of $53.0 million on the sale of Alarm Funding Associates (Alarm), an increase of 82.6%, versus operating income of $86.3 million in the prior year period.

Net income was $57.2 million, versus net income of $24.1 million in the prior year period. Excluding the gain on the sale of Alarm, net income attributable to the Company would have been $30.0 million.

Diluted earnings per common share were $0.61, $0.32 excluding the gain on the sale of Alarm, as compared to $0.25 in the prior year period

David Smith, executive chairman, commented: “2017 is shaping up to be a pivotal year with the FCC’s recent reinstatement of the UHF discount, expected approval of ATSC 3.0 (Next Generation Broadcast Platform), and much needed modernization of antiquated broadcast regulations. Positive movements by the FCC on these fronts will allow us, among other things, to better serve our local communities through increased investment in local news and other quality local programming.

“In anticipation of ATSC 3.0’s approval, we have been laying the groundwork for development of a nationwide network, design of 3.0 chipsets, and will be testing single frequency network technology and advanced business models later this summer. The Next Gen technology will transform how we interact with consumers and allow us to implement value-enhancing business models as the convergence and emergence of alternative platforms and companies proliferate.”

Looking forward, Chris Ripley, president-CEO, said: “We continue to see growth in core advertising revenues, as well as automotive ad spending which is our largest advertising category. For second quarter, adjusting for the absence of advertising by for-profit technical schools that went out of business, our core advertising revenues are expected to be flat to up low single digit percentage points. We believe the success of our emerging networks, digital businesses and audience network sales demonstrate our ability to differentiate ourselves and outperform the market.”

Read the company’s report here.