A television station in Boston has shifted its primary network affiliation to Sinclair-owned comedy network TBD.
The switch happened last Tuesday when WRNN-owned WMFP (Channel 61) replaced OnTV with TBD. The change gave the Sinclair multicast network instant distribution on pay TV systems in the Boston metropolitan area, including standard definition and high definition carriage on Comcast (Xfinity), Verizon’s Fios TV, Charter (Spectrum) and RCN. It also made TBD available in the Boston area via Dish Network and DirecTV satellite, while Atlantic Broadband now carries the high definition feed of the channel. Previously, TBD was offered on a digital sub-channel of CBS-owned WSBK, which replaced it with programming from QVC.
Over the past few years, Sinclair has made significant investments in TBD’s programming and brand identity, evolving it from a 24-hour network that showcased user generated video clips from YouTube and other platforms into one that airs repeats of unexpected and skit-based comedy programming like “Saturday Night Live,” “Punk’d,” “Key & Peele” and the CW Network version of “Whose Line is it Anyway?”
Adam Ware, Sinclair’s Senior Vice President of Growth Networks, told The Desk last year that the network has benefitted from a trend of consumers adopting antennas to watch more free broadcast TV, at a time when cable and satellite TV packages are squeezing out subscribers with price increases. To capitalize on the trend, Sinclair has been laser-focused on strategizing where its multicast networks like TBD are placed on the dial, opting for distribution close to main network affiliates like ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.
“That real estate is enormously valuable, and we are proud of the work we have done at Sinclair to secure the best channel positions in the largest DMAs,” Ware said.
Over the past few months, Sinclair has moved two of its other multicast networks — Charge and TBD — in closer proximity to ABC-owned and CBS-owned stations in major markets like New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Houston and San Francisco. Last month, Sinclair did the same with TBD, quickly inking distribution agreements with Fox Television Stations to broadcast the comedy network on the digital signal of its TV stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Phoenix. In several of those markets, TBD will replace Allen Media-owned The Grio on digital TV and cable.
Moving a multicast network to the dot-one slot of a digital broadcast TV signal is somewhat rare, but it does happen. In addition to WFMP, TBD is offered as the primary network affiliate on three full-power TV stations in other parts of the country: Baltimore (WUTB, Channel 24); Columbus, Ohio (WTTE, Channel 28); and Peoria, Illinois (WHOI, Channel 19).
According to Nielsen data, multicast networks like the four owned by Sinclair accounted for around one-fifth of all time spent with broadcast TV from late October to mid-November 2024.
