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/ 02.02.2010 12:00AM
Sinclair and ABC Extend Affiliation Talks
HUNT VALLEY, MD.: Sinclair Broadcast
Group said today that its affiliation negotiations with the ABC Network have
been extended for another month. Sinclair has nine stations affiliated with the
network. This marks the second, one-month extension for negotiations.
Sinclair’s contract with ABC expired Dec. 31, but were extended at that time by
a month.
Sinclair recently closed carriage deals with cable operators that include some
of its ABC stations. Its December agreement with Time Warner Cable included
three. The contentious battle with Mediacom included Sinclair ABC affiliates in
St. Louis, Mo., Mobile, Ala., and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Coinciding with the announcement of the extension, Sinclair’s share price
(NASDAQ: SBGI) hit its highest levels since the crash of September 2008. Shares
were trading near $5.70 mid-day (EST) up from around $5.50 yesterday and closer
to $5 for most of January. The stock reached a 52-week low of 85 cents last
March, when the market bottomed out.
Sinclair executives earlier this month revised their guidance on the company’s
fourth quarter upward. Broadcast revenues are expected to be 6.5 percent lower
than last year as opposed to between 11 and 12.8 percent.
More on Sinclair:
January 4, 2010: “Sinclair Lightens Up on
4Q”
“Advertising revenues from the auto sector has
been a major driver of the revenue improvement due to increased spending by
dealers and domestic manufacturers.”
November
4, 2009: “Sinclair Beats Street”
Third-quarter broadcast revenues for Sinclair were in line with analyst
estimates at $136.4 million, down 9 percent from last year’s $150.1 million.
Net broadcasting income was $14.9 million versus $10.2 million a year ago.
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Thursday 12:00AM
Broadcasters File Suit Against FCC’s Political File Rules
“The FCC decision to put the political files online will bring broadcasters into the 21st century, and will make already public information more easily accessible to everyone.” Free Press Senior Policy Counsel Corie Wright.