Sinclair NASDAQ: SBGI reported first-quarter 2026 results that executives said demonstrated the “consistency of the broadcast business and the growth potential of Tennis Channel,” as the company reaffirmed its full-year guidance and highlighted debt reduction actions taken in early April.
First-quarter results: revenue up 4%, adjusted EBITDA up 13%
President and CEO Chris Ripley said Sinclair delivered “a strong first quarter,” with total revenue of $807 million, up 4% year-over-year, and adjusted EBITDA of $126 million, up 13%.
Executive Vice President and CFO Narinder Sahai said distribution revenue rose 2% to $458 million, supported by “lower subscriber churn across key MVPDs and incremental benefit from our partner station buy-ins,” which also contributed to growth in net retransmission revenue. Core advertising revenue grew 4% to $305 million, reflecting contributions from the Digital Remedy acquisition, as well as demand tied to live sports including the Winter Olympics and NFL playoffs.
In the Local Media segment, Sahai reported total revenue of $701 million, with distribution revenue of $402 million and core advertising revenue of $261 million both showing “modest growth year-over-year.” Segment adjusted EBITDA was $117 million, which he attributed to “lower programming and production costs,” lower network compensation tied to prior-year station sales, and disciplined SG&A.
Within the Tennis segment, total revenue increased year-over-year to $70 million, while adjusted EBITDA of $20 million declined from the prior year’s first quarter due to higher sales and programming expenses as the company invests in growth initiatives for the network.
Advertising and sports: Fox World Cup schedule in focus
Chief Operating Officer and President of Local Media Rob Weisbord said first-quarter core advertising growth was driven by “the strength in digital” and Sinclair’s acquisition of Digital Remedy, which he described as enabling the company to capture demand across linear, connected TV, and digital channels. Weisbord also pointed to major live sports events that benefited the market, noting strong performance at NBC affiliates tied to the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics, and NBA.
Management repeatedly emphasized that Sinclair is “underweight NBC” and “overweight Fox,” with Weisbord and Ripley both pointing to Fox’s June and July World Cup schedule as a key catalyst. Weisbord said 70 of 104 World Cup matches will air live on Fox broadcast stations, including 40 matches in prime time.
Asked about near-term category and booking trends amid macro uncertainty, Weisbord said the company remains comfortable with its annual core advertising guidance but is monitoring headwinds such as weakening consumer confidence, higher gas prices, and rising shipping costs. Ripley added that first-quarter core results were “as-reported” and were affected by station divestitures in Rincon, Yakima, and Spokane.
On the World Cup’s potential impact, Weisbord said Sinclair was “super bullish,” citing early advertiser inquiries, prime-time placement, and what he described as a weaker typical summer viewing period that could benefit from appointment viewing. Ripley said the company expects to perform better than prior World Cup cycles given time-zone and U.S. location factors, though he added he did not expect it to be as large as the Olympics in total impact.
Tennis Channel posts record viewership month, expands streaming distribution
Weisbord said Tennis Channel “delivered an exceptional quarter” and posted its “most watched month ever” in March 2026, driven by the Indian Wells and Miami Open tournaments. He noted the Miami Open women’s final between Sabalenka and Gauff was the most-watched women’s match in Tennis Channel history, breaking a record set two weeks earlier at the Indian Wells women’s final. Weisbord said four of the top five most-watched matches in the network’s history occurred in March, and household viewership rose 19% year-over-year in the quarter.
Management also highlighted distribution expansion. Weisbord said Tennis Channel recently reached record direct-to-consumer subscriber levels, “driven in large part through its recent launch with Amazon Prime Video.” He also noted Tennis Channel 2, a FAST channel that launched on Peacock in January, will continue to feature “Women’s Day every Tuesday,” dedicated to women’s tennis.
During Q&A, Ripley said the company is “leaning into Tennis Channel,” pointing to the hiring of Jeff Blackburn, whom Ripley described as “a legend in the streaming industry” with experience at Amazon. Ripley said Tennis Channel’s ratings were up about 20% in the quarter and “subs up over 30%,” while the company continues investing in rights, programming, and its direct-to-consumer product.
Balance sheet actions: term loan retirement and leverage metrics
Sinclair emphasized deleveraging as a key priority. Ripley said the company retired approximately $165 million in term loans at a discount through an unmodified reverse Dutch auction, which he said will save about $12 million in annual cash interest expense. Sahai said the company ended the quarter with total Sinclair Television Group debt of $4.4 billion, and the nearest material maturity (excluding the accounts receivable facility) remained December 2029.
At quarter end, Sahai reported STG net first-out first lien leverage of 1.5x, net first lien leverage of 3.8x, and net leverage of 5.1x. He noted net leverage declined 0.2 turns sequentially and did not yet reflect the April term loan retirement. Sinclair ended the quarter with $844 million in consolidated cash—$392 million at STG and $451 million at Ventures—and total liquidity of about $1.5 billion including revolver availability.
Strategic priorities: station buy-ins, FCC issues, Ventures separation and M&A
Ripley said Sinclair has now closed on a “substantial majority” of its JSA and LMA partner station buy-ins, with only a small number remaining, and expects “the full $30 million in annualized synergies in 2026.” He also said the company completed two “accretive duopoly transactions” in Providence and Tulsa and has “several smaller portfolio optimization discussions underway.”
Ripley said Sinclair’s strategic review of the broadcast business remains active, reiterating that its “ideal path forward is a broadcast combination concurrent with a Ventures separation.” He added that Sinclair remains the largest shareholder of Scripps and that its perspective on the strategic logic of a combination is unchanged, though he said the company is pursuing multiple paths to achieve similar benefits.
Sahai said Ventures generated $12 million in cash distributions during the quarter, primarily from secondary market monetization of a minority investment. Ventures ended the quarter with $451 million in cash and cash equivalents. Ripley said there is “no rush” to separate Ventures, though Sinclair is progressing with carve-out audits and other preparatory work. He also said Ventures currently carries no debt and, if spun today, would be capitalized with roughly $450 million of cash, though the mix could change depending on a broadcast transaction.
On the regulatory and consolidation environment, Ripley said the company viewed the broader environment as constructive for broadcasters, citing FCC and Department of Justice approvals of the Nexstar-Tegna transaction “with no material conditions.” Ripley told analysts the DOJ’s approach represented “a huge change” in how it defines the market, acknowledging competition across cable and connected TVs, which he said could be “tremendously helpful to the industry going forward” as it pursues consolidation. He also said Sinclair expects the FCC to eventually change or abolish national ownership caps so deals do not rely on waivers.
Ripley also addressed the FCC’s sports media marketplace inquiry launched in late February, saying more than 10,000 comments have been submitted. He argued fragmentation of live sports across services is increasing consumer frustration and contended that broadcast provides the “widest reach and the lowest cost to the consumer.”
Finally, management said it is deploying AI tools across the workforce, with Ripley describing both “bottoms-up” and “top-down” approaches to productivity and new workflows, while Sahai said the company views AI as “fundamentally reimagining and reinventing how we do things.” Weisbord provided an example related to podcasts, describing using AI to translate content into Chinese to expand distribution internationally.
Looking ahead, Sahai said Sinclair is reaffirming full-year 2026 guidance, balancing increased macro uncertainty—he cited weaker consumer sentiment and higher inflation expectations—against expected benefits from a sports-heavy calendar, a record midterm political cycle, improving distribution trends, and cost discipline.
About Sinclair NASDAQ: SBGI
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc NASDAQ: SBGI is a media and entertainment company headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Founded in 1971 as a single UHF television station operator, Sinclair has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest owners of local television stations in the United States. Over its history, the company has pursued a diversified portfolio that includes both traditional broadcast assets and newer digital platforms.
At its core, Sinclair operates over 190 television stations affiliated with the major national broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV.
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