The Desk appreciates the support of readers who purchase products or services through links on our website. Learn more...

Number of Sinclair stations pulling local news grows

Three more local television stations will shut down their local news operations, with even more slated to close in the coming months.

Three more local television stations will shut down their local news operations, with even more slated to close in the coming months.

The studios of Toledo NBC affiliate WNWO. (Courtesy photo, Graphic by The Desk)
The studios of Toledo NBC affiliate WNWO. (Courtesy photo, Graphic by The Desk)

Nearly a half-dozen broadcast stations owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group will lose their local news programming in the coming weeks, The Desk has confirmed.

Last week, The Desk reported Sinclair-owned KTVL (Channel 10, CBS) in Southern Oregon and WNWO (Channel 24, NBC) in Toledo were in the process of issuing pink slips to newsroom employees as the stations dropped their local news programming in favor of Sinclair’s “The National Desk,” a nationally-distributed news show.

Since then, more newsrooms have been put on notice by Sinclair that their local shows will be replaced with The National Desk, including WGFL (Channel 4, CBS) in Gainesville, Florida; KPTM (Channel 42, Fox) in Omaha and KPTH (Channel 44, Fox) in Sioux City.

Information about the additional local news closures was provided by a source at Sinclair familiar with the move, who affirmed that additional newsrooms could be shuttered in the coming months as Sinclair continues to take a look at its broadcast operations.

In February, executives at Sinclair listed news as a “priority area” for investment in 2023. The company brought in more than $1.57 billion in advertising revenue across all business sectors — including its digital ad products and regional sports channels — fueled in large part by an uptick in political ad inventory purchased on its stations during the midterm election.

Photo of author

About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is an award-winning journalist with more than 10 years of experience covering the business of television and radio broadcasting, streaming services and the overall media industry. In addition to his work as publisher of The Desk, Matthew contributes regularly to StreamTV Insider and KnowTechie, and has worked for several well-known news organizations, including Thomson Reuters, McNaughton Newspapers, Grasswire, Comstock's magazine, KTXL-TV and KGO-TV. Matthew is a member of IRE, a trade organization for investigative reporters and editors, and is based in Northern California.

Email: [email protected] | Signal: 530-507-8380