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Outlet profile

Sinclair Broadcast Group

U.S. right

Owned byPublicly traded company (NASDAQ: SBGI); the Smith family — led by Executive Chairman David D. Smith and his brothers — retains effective voting control through a dual-class share structure (Class B shares) established at the 1995 IPO
FundingPrimarily advertising revenue from local TV stations; significant political advertising revenue (projected at $333 million+ for 2026); also retransmission consent fees from pay-TV providers
On the administrationbroadly supportive

Background

Sinclair was founded in 1971 by Julian Sinclair Smith as Chesapeake Television Corporation, launching WBFF, an independent station in Baltimore. After Smith's sons consolidated his stations under the Sinclair name in 1986 and took the company public in 1995, it grew aggressively through acquisitions to reach 178 stations in 78 markets — covering more than 40 percent of U.S. households — making it the largest local TV broadcaster in the country by station count. The company drew early controversy in 2004 when it ordered its stations to air a documentary critical of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry shortly before the election. Its most prominent controversy came in 2018, when Sinclair required hundreds of local news anchors across the country to read an identical on-air script warning viewers about 'fake news' from other outlets; a viral video stitching together the identical readings sparked national backlash. For years Sinclair employed Boris Epshteyn — a former aide to Donald Trump — as its chief political analyst, forcing local stations to air his pro-Trump 'must-run' commentary segments; those segments were discontinued in December 2019. Media Bias/Fact Check rates Sinclair as right-biased, and data from OpenSecrets shows roughly 80 percent of Sinclair's political donations have gone to Republican candidates. During Trump's second term, Sinclair-owned ABC and NBC affiliates aired a Trump primetime speech in July 2026 that the national ABC and NBC networks chose not to carry, and in 2025 Sinclair joined another broadcaster in refusing to air Jimmy Kimmel Live! after the host made remarks critical of a conservative figure — a move that drew a congressional investigation inquiry. Sinclair has also lobbied heavily under the second Trump administration for the FCC to raise or eliminate broadcast ownership caps, which would allow further consolidation.

Sources

  1. Sinclair Broadcast Group | History, Holdings, & Political Controversies — Britannica
  2. Sinclair Broadcast Group — Bias and Credibility, Media Bias/Fact Check
  3. A comprehensive guide to the relationship between Sinclair Broadcast Group and the Trump administration — Media Matters
  4. Sinclair Broadcast Group drops Boris Epshteyn's 'must-run' segments — Media Matters
  5. Sinclair-Owned ABC And NBC Stations Carry Trump Primetime Speech — Deadline
  6. Top Oversight Democrat Says He's Launching Investigation Of Trump Administration, ABC And Sinclair Over Jimmy Kimmel Suspension — Deadline
  7. Nexstar, Sinclair spend millions lobbying to rewrite TV station ownership rules — OpenSecrets
  8. Sinclair Broadcast Group demands editorial control — NPR
  9. Sinclair's broadcasts focus on fears, aligning with Trump's view of cities — The Washington Post
  10. Sinclair CEO Expects FCC to Raise or Eliminate Broadcast Ownership Cap in First Half of 2026 — The Wrap
  11. Who Owns Sinclair — Free Press

Profile compiled 2026-08-08; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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