Sinclair Revenues Rise For First Quarter

Q1 Numbers

SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP first quarter revenues rose 12.3% to $649 million, and net income jumped from $24.1 million to $57.2 million, $27.2 million of which is a gain on the sale of ALARM FUNDING ASSOCIATES.  Media revenues before barter rose 12.4% to $602.5 million; political revenues predictably plunged from $24.4 million to $2.1 million.  Digital revenues rose 25%.  The company does not separately disclose revenues from its radio properties in SEATTLE.

"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," said Executive Chairman DAVID SMITH.  "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."

"We continue to see growth in core advertising revenues, as well as automotive ad spending which is our largest advertising category," added President/CEO CHRIS RIPLEY.  "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."

SINCLAIR projects media revenues to see a 3.5%-4.5% year-to-year increase for second quarter.  The company's board also declared an 18 cents per share quarterly cash dividend, payable JUNE 15th to shareholders of record as of JUNE 1st.

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