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State of the Screens

Even as Sinclair Aims to Be a Bigger Broadcaster, It’s Building a New Streaming Service Called…

By November 2, 2018No Comments

Big news: Sinclair Broadcasting Group is taking content (news, etc.) from 190 local stations across 80+ markets to launch a national OTT service.

Quote from Christopher Ripley– CEO @ Sinclair Broadcasting Group:
“There will be no broadcasting business in short order…it will all mesh together.”

Interesting: The service will be delivered primarily via OTT, but they will also sign carriage agreements with pay-TV providers (Comcast, etc.) for additional distribution.

Local + National: Stitching together a national OTT offering allows a local broadcaster like Sinclair to also sell national advertising to big brands and move beyond the $5.3B in local digital video spend.

Flashback #1: TV Advertising Has A Marketing Problem

Local video ad spend in 2022 (% of total):
1) Television: $29.8B (80%)
2) Digital: $5.3B (14%)
3) Other: $2.0B (6%)

Flashback #2: Pew Research Center: Local TV News Fact Sheet

Local broadcast station revenue by year (TV only):
1) 2010 — $19.4b
2) 2011 — $17.9b
3) 2012 — $20.3b
4) 2013 — $18.4b
5) 2014 — $20.0b
6) 2015 — $18.5b
7) 2016 — $20.6b
8) 2017 — $19.8b*
9) 2018 — $21.1b*

Flashback #3: Charter Spectrum plans to report local TV news, 24 hours a day, in Los Angeles

More #1: Is Broadcast TV’s Future Over-The-Top?

More #2: Local Broadcasters Prepare to Face Very Different Future

More #3: Nielsen Expands Total Audience To Local TV

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.