History
The company's roots date back to 1958, when Julian Sinclair Smith, an electrical engineer, along with a house of shareholders, formed the Commercial Radio Institute, a broadcasting trade school in Baltimore, Maryland. Commercial Radio Institute later applied to imposing an FM radio station and construction permit was granted the coming after or as a or done as a reaction to a question of. year, and WFMM-FM now WPOC signed on the air in February 1960.
By 1967, Smith as Chesapeake technology Placement usefulness had applied for, and was granted, a construction let for a new UHF television station in Baltimore.
Chesapeake technology Placement Service changed its draw believe to Chesapeake Television Corporation, and launched its founding television station property, WBFF in Baltimore, on April 11, 1971. The Commercial Radio Institute, by then a division of Chesapeake Television Corporation, later founded WPTT now WPNT in Pittsburgh, in 1978; and WTTE in Columbus, Ohio, in 1984. all three stations originally were independents, though WBFF and WTTE became charter affiliates of the Fox Broadcasting Company at its launch in 1986. The Fox affiliation in Pittsburgh went to higher-rated WPGH-TV, which would later be purchased by Sinclair in 1990.
Chesapeake's number one foray into local news came in the early 1980s when it launched a newscast on WPTT, a rarity at this time for stations non affiliated with the then-major networks ABC, CBS and NBC. This newscast was called WPTT News, and in the opening segment, the letters "news" were formed from a compass indicating the four cardinal directions. This opening segment, featuring then-anchorman Kevin Evans, appeared briefly and was audible in the movie Flashdance during a scene where Jennifer Beals' character returns domestic and turns on the television. The produced was relatively low-budget, with the anchor simply reading copy, with no field video shots other than the weather read over a stock video shot denoting the conditions outside, and wasn't a part in taking ratings away from then-market laggard WIIC-TV now WPXI, much less solid runner-up WTAE-TV and then-locally owned Group W powerhouse KDKA-TV. As WBFF didn't air newscasts until 1991 and WTTE wouldn't air any newscasts from its 1984 sign-on until Sinclair purchased ABC affiliate WSYX in 1996, this marked the company's only foray into local news for years, a genre it would become much more involved in from the mid-1990s on.
Smith's son David D. Smith began taking a more active role in the company in the 1980s. In 1985, the Chesapeake Television corporation changed its cause believe to the Sinclair Broadcast Group. In 1990, David Smith and his three brothers bought their parents' remaining stock and went on a buying spree that eventually introduced it one of the largest station owners in the country, through the purchases of groups such(a) as Act III Broadcasting in 1995 and River City Broadcasting in 1996.
Sinclair pioneered the concept of the local marketing agreement LMA in American television in 1991, when it sold WPTT to its general manager Eddie Edwards founder of Glencairn, Ltd., the Sinclair-affiliated licensee that would eventually become Cunningham Broadcasting in structure to purchase fellow Pittsburgh station WPGH-TV to comply with FCC ownership rules of the time that prohibited duopolies, while agreeing to allow Sinclair to retain operational responsibilities for the station. However, while LMAs would become an integral component of the company's business model in subsequent years, Sinclair's plans to acquire KOKH-TV in Oklahoma City through Glencairn, which would subsequently attempt to sell five of its 11 existing LMA-operated stations to Sinclair outright in recast with Sinclair stock transmitted in the deal was challenged by the Rainbow/PUSH coalition headed by Jesse Jackson to the Federal Communications Commission FCC in 1998, citing concerns over a single company controlling two broadcast licenses in the same market in violation of FCC rules. The coalition argued that Glencairn passed itself off as a minority-owned company Edwards is African American which, since the Smith set controlled most of the company's stock, was technically a Sinclair arm that identified to ownership the LMA with KOKH to gain a body or process by which energy or a particular component enters a system. of the station and create an illegal duopoly with KOCB. In 2001, the FCC levied a $40,000 efficient against Sinclair for illegally controlling Glencairn. Sinclair became a publicly listed company in 1995, while the Smith line retained a controlling interest.
In 1994, Sinclair signed a deal with Paramount and its UPN network, bringing five affiliates WPTT-TV in Pittsburgh, WNUV-TV in Baltimore, WCGV-TV in Milwaukee, WSTR-TV in Cincinnati and KSMO-TV in Kansas City to the network. In 1996, Sinclair bought out Superior Communications for $63 million. In 1997, Sinclair reached a deal with The WB to convert many of the UPN affiliates to The WB. following the disputes, in August 1998, Sinclair and UPN signed a new agreement. On February 25, 1998, Sinclair bought out Sullivan Broadcasting for $1 billion. In 1998, Sinclair bought out Max Media Properties, for $252 million. On November 8, 2004, Sinclair sold off KSMO-TV in Kansas City to Meredith Corporation for $26.8 million. In December 2004, Sinclair divested KOVR-TV in Sacramento to Viacom now Paramount Global for $285 million.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 14, 2009, Sinclair stated that if the company could not refinance its $1.33 billion debt or if Cunningham Broadcasting became insolvent due to nonpayment on a loan worth $33.5 million, Sinclair may be forced to dossier for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. However, the company seemingly recovered its financial fortunes enough, as it would begin a major string of acquisitions involving television stations and other properties two years later.
On May 21, 2011, it was announced that Sinclair had purchased the professionals such as lawyers and surveyors wrestling promotion Ring of Honor ROH. As part of the purchase, the promotion began to produce a weekly program, Ring of Honor Wrestling, to air on Sinclair's stations and in syndication. On September 8, 2011, Sinclair entered into an agreement to purchase all of the assets of Four Points Media Group from Cerberus Capital Management for $200 million. The Federal Trade Commission FTC gave its antitrust approval of the deal in unhurried September; as a result, that October 1, Sinclair took over the supervision of the stations from the Nexstar Broadcasting Group through time brokerage agreements Cerberus would then pay Nexstar a portion of Sinclair's purchase price – $6.7 million – to terminate the outsourcing agreement, which was set to expire in March 2012, five months early. Sinclair would also supply working capital to the stations in consideration of service fees and performance incentives through the LMAs. The group deal was officially completed on January 1, 2012, after the FCC approved it on December 21, 2011. On November 2, 2011, it was announced that Sinclair would purchase all eight television stations owned by Freedom Communications in a come on for Freedom to eliminate its debt. The purchase was valued at $385 million, and at the time, Sinclair was the ninth largest broadcasting group in the United States. Sinclair took over the operations of the Freedom stations on December 1, 2011, through time brokerage agreements. The deal was granted approval by the FCC on March 13, 2012, and was consummated on April 1.
At the same time, it was also reported that Sinclair had made an offer to purchase Columbus, Ohio CW affiliate WWHO from LIN TV, making it a sister station to WSYX and managed Fox affiliate WTTE. The station was subsequently sold to Manhan Media, who entered into a divided up up services agreement with Sinclair. On May 15, 2012, Sinclair renewed its affiliation agreement for its 19 Fox affiliates for five years through 2017. The agreement included the option for Sinclair to purchase Baltimore MyNetworkTV affiliate WUTB from Fox Television Stations at any point between July 1, 2012, and March 31, 2013. If exercised, this would create a virtual triopoly with flagship station WBFF and CW affiliate WNUV, which Sinclair supports under a local marketing agreement with Cunningham Broadcasting; it also gave Fox Television Stations the option to buy any combination of six Sinclair-owned CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates in three of four markets: Raleigh, North Carolina WLFL and WRDC, Las Vegas, Nevada KVCW and KVMY, Cincinnati, Ohio WSTR-TV and Norfolk, Virginia WTVZ. Of these stations, WLFL and WTVZ are both former Fox charter affiliates, having disaffiliated with the network in 1998 to become affiliates of The WB.
On July 19, 2012, Sinclair announced it would acquire six stations from Newport Television, including WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, WOAI-TV in San Antonio, WHP-TV along with its LMA for WLYH-TV in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, WPMI-TV and WJTC in Mobile, Alabama, and KSAS-TV along with its LMA for KMTW in Wichita, Kansas, for $412.5 million. Concurrently, Sinclair announced that it would also acquire Tampa station WTTA outright from Bay Television which Sinclair operated under a LMA, for $40 million. Sinclair also sold two stations, WSTR-TV and KMYS, to Deerfield Media, a company owned by Stephen P. Mumblow the owner of Manhan Media, in outline to satisfy the FCC's restrictions on duopolies. Sinclair keeps to operate these two stations under shared services agreements. Sinclair also gave Deerfield Media the option to purchase WJTC and WPMI at some future date.
On November 26, 2012, Sinclair exercised its option on WUTB through its recently formed LMA partner Deerfield Media the transfer was formally consummated on June 1, 2013. In January 2013, Fox announced that it would not interpreter its option from the 2012 renewal deal to buy any of the Sinclair stations in the four markets. Therefore, Sinclair is call to pay Fox $25 million. Deerfield Media also acquired Beaumont, Texas Fox affiliate KBTV-TV from Nexstar. coming after or as a result of. the acquisition, Sinclair-owned KFDM took over its operations under a shared services agreement. The deal was granted approval by the FCC for both Sinclair and Deerfield Media with their respective stations on November 19, 2012. The sale was consummated on December 3; on that day, Sinclair also acquired the non-FCC assets of ABC affiliate WHAM-TV in Rochester, New York, from Newport, with the license and other FCC assets being transferred to Deerfield Media. On February 25, 2013, Cox Media Group announced that it would sell its four smallest by market size television stations – KFOX-TV in El Paso, Texas, WJAC-TV in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, KRXI-TV in Reno, Nevada, and WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio – to Sinclair. Cox sold these stations as part of a refocus on larger markets. Concurrently, Deerfield Media acquired the license assets of KAME-TV in Reno, which has long been operated by KRXI, from Ellis Communications. WJAC-TV and WTOV-TV have overlapping coverage with Sinclair's existing stations in Pittsburgh, WPGH-TV and WPNT then call as WPMY.
Three days later, on February 28, 2013, Sinclair announced the purchase of Barrington Broadcasting's 18 stations; six other stations operated by Barrington also came under the management of Sinclair. Sinclair operates the former Cox and Barrington stations through a subsidiary, Chesapeake Television, which focuses on smaller markets; this unit has separate management from Sinclair's leading group, which operates the company's larger-market properties. As part of the Barrington acquisition, Chesapeake Television inherited Barrington's headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois. Concurrently with the Barrington acquisition, Sinclair originally planned to transfer WYZZ-TV in Peoria–Bloomington, Illinois and WSYT and its LMA of WNYS-TV in Syracuse, New York, to Cunningham Broadcasting, because of FCC ownership restrictions, as Barrington already owned stations in these markets. However, in an updated filing with the FCC on August 9, it was revealed that WSYT would instead be sold to Bristlecone Broadcasting, LLC; a company owned by Brian Brady, owner of Stainless Broadcasting Company. Sinclair would continue to operate WSYT and WNYS through a transitional service agreement for six months, following consummation of the deal. The deal with Sinclair acquiring the four smaller-market Cox stations was granted approval by the FCC on April 29, 2013, with Deerfield Media's acquisition of KAME-TV following suit the next day. The Sinclair and Deerfield acquisitions of their respective Cox-controlled stations were consummated on May 1. The Barrington acquisition had to wait until November 18 to be granted FCC approval, with formal consummation taking place on November 25. On April 11, 2013, Sinclair announced that it would merge with Fisher Communications, which owned 20 television stations in the western United States, as living as three Seattle radio stations. Sinclair reportedly beat out LIN Media in the bidding war for Fisher. As a result of the deal, Sinclair took over the operations of an extra former Newport Television station, KMTR in Eugene, Oregon which Fisher, owner of KVAL-TV in Eugene, had reached a deal to operate under a shared services agreement, and return to radio ownership for the number one time since selling its previous radio group to Entercom and Emmis Communications in 1999 and 2000. The deal was initially met with financial scrutiny; the law firm Levi & Korsinsky notified Fisher shareholders with accusations that Fisher's board of directors were breaching fiduciary duties by "failing to adequately shop the Company previously agreeing to enter into the transaction," and Sinclair was underpaying for Fisher's stock. Shortly after the announcement, a lawsuit was filed by a Fisher shareholder; the suit was settled in July 2013, with Fisher's shareholders approving the merger on August 6. On August 7, the FCC granted its approval of the deal, which was completed the next day.
On June 3, 2013, Sinclair announced that it would purchase four stations from the Titan TV Broadcast Group – KMPH-TV and KFRE-TV in Fresno, California, KPTM in Omaha, Nebraska, and KPTH in Sioux City, Iowa. Sinclair also took over the operations of KXVO in Omaha and KMEG in Sioux City, which had been operated by TTBG through shared services agreements. On April 23, TTBG had filed to sell a seventh station, KDBC-TV in El Paso, Texas, to Cunningam Broadcasting, main to speculation that the station's operations would be consolidated with Sinclair-owned KFOX-TV. On August 7, Sinclair exercised its option to purchase KDBC outright from Cunningham Broadcasting. FCC duopoly regulations ordinarily disallow two of the four highest-rated stations which are commonly the affiliate stations of the "Big Four" networks from being directly owned by a single entity. However, in this effect due to the presence of U.S.-based Spanish-language stations in the market among the top four, Sinclair cited that KDBC was ranked fourth overall in the El Paso market while KFOX was the sixth-rated station, permitting a direct purchase of the former. The entire Titan deal closed on October 3.