Sinclair 3Q Media Revenue Climbs 47%

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. (SBGI) on Wednesday reported a third-quarter loss of $60 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

The Hunt Valley, Maryland-based company said it had a loss of 64 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $1.15 per share.

The television broadcasting company posted revenue of $1.13 billion in the period.

For the current quarter ending in December, Sinclair said it expects revenue in the range of $1.6 billion to $1.63 billion.

The company expects full-year revenue in the range of $4.22 billion to $4.24 billion.

Chris Ripley

According to the Baltimore Business Journal, the CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. remains confident that the TV broadcaster has the advantage against Dish Network Corp. as the companies continue to negotiate an agreement to end a prolonged blackout of Sinclair's regional sports networks.

Hunt Valley-based Sinclair's 21 regional sports networks have been dark since July on Dish and Sling TV when the Walt Disney Co. still owned the Fox sports channels. Sinclair closed on its purchase of the channels from Disney for $9.6 billion in August. Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley provided an update to analysts on Wednesday after the company reported its earnings. The blackouts are continuing even as the NBA and NHL seasons began last month.

Before the Fox sports deal closed, Ripley said Sinclair assumed Disney and Dish would reach a compromise. His optimism contrasted from the outlook of Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen, who told analysts in July 29 that "it doesn't look good that the regional sports [networks] will ever be on Dish again."

Sinclair could use the regional sports networks as leverage when its next round of negotiations with Dish open up for local broadcast channels. Ripley said a sports carriage agreement would be a "very relevant factor" in future negotiations.

Sinclair will be rebranding the Fox regional sports networks but has not unveiled a new name for them yet.