Sinclair, Inc. is launching a new program that provides advertising resources and additional services to growing businesses in exchange for equity through its local media operations.
The media-for-equity program comes as the United States rapidly progresses toward becoming the leading market in media capital over the next few years, Sinclair said in a statement on Thursday. Sinclair is one of the biggest operators of local television broadcast stations in the country, with 185 owned or operated TV stations in its portfolio, and several multicast networks like the Tennis Channel, TBD (rebranding later this month as Roar), Comet, Charge and The Nest.
Sinclair said its broad local and multicast TV mix gives it “unparalleled exposure for emerging businesses, enabling them to scale efficiently while benefiting from the reach and credibility of Sinclair’s established media resources.”
“We recognize the transformative power of media in accelerating brand growth at scale,” Chris Ripley, Sinclair’s President and CEO, said in a statement on Thursday. “By aligning with innovative, forward-thinking companies, we’re not just providing the advertising resources businesses need to expand-we’re strategically investing in high growth opportunities that propel both our partners and our portfolio forward.”
Sinclair has already started making some strategic investments in small businesses, including Best Day Brewing, Crush Yard, Puroast Coffee, Air Tasker, LA Golf, Captain Experiences, Deskera, Edly, and RVnGo.
Those direct investments involve a partnership with Mercurius Media Capital and Media For Growth (MFG, stylized as mediaforgrowth), with Sinclair providing advertising resources and strategic support in exchange for equity through the local media business.
“Sinclair’s bold entry into media-for-equity underscores their leadership in transforming media into a powerful growth engine for businesses,” said Piyush Puri, Founding Partner at Mercurius Media Capital. “We’ve championed this model-closing six standout deals in the past year-and, with Sinclair, we look forward to expanding that impact by helping innovative companies scale efficiently while delivering strong returns for our investors and media partners.”
“At MFG, we are thrilled to partner with Sinclair, building on our success in Europe with consumer brands and media partners. With immense growth potential in the U.S., Sinclair’s reach and media insights align perfectly with our mission to accelerate the next generation of consumer unicorns through streamlined media capital investments,” said Diana Florescu, CEO and Founder at MFG.
The media-for-growth initiative is similar to how some deals come together on the hit TV show “Shark Tank” — in this scenario, Sinclair is one of the “sharks,” and small businesses offer up equity in exchange for tapping into Sinclair’s advertising and marketing solutions, and receiving other support to help scale up their operations.
Tate Huffard, the Founder and CEO of Best Day Brewing, said partnering with Sinclair was “an exciting milestone” for his startup, which participates in the lucrative but highly competitive beverage space with non-alcoholic beer.
“With Sinclair’s extensive portfolio and expansive reach, we’re excited to introduce more people to the joy of a great tasting non-alcoholic beer,” Huffard said. “This investment enables us to scale our brand faster and connect with new audiences as we pioneer the future of drinking.”
