Sinclair, Inc. is consolidating the newsrooms across two of its New England television stations, forming a single news and editorial unit that the company says is one of the largest in the region.
As part of the consolidation, Sinclair says its Providence, Rhode Island ABC affiliate WLNE (Channel 6) will rebrand to “Coastal ABC,” and will share the news and editorial resources of WJAR (Channel 10, NBC) in the same market.
WLNE is owned by Standard Media but operated by Sinclair through a shared-services agreement, putting it under joint operation with Sinclair-owned WJAR. ABC programming moved to a secondary digital sub-channel of WJAR last year, with WLNE becoming an affiliate of Sinclair’s comedy network Roar.
“The Coastal ABC brand reflects Sinclair’s continued investment in local journalism and its commitment to delivering timely, relevant, and trusted news coverage to viewers throughout Rhode Island,” a Sinclair spokesperson said in a press release on Tuesday, adding that the consolidated news operation will put “more reporters on the street, in more communities and in more places where news happens, driving increased original reporting and delivering more local content across broadcast, digital and social platforms.”
The move is the second major realignment of local TV stations under Sinclair’s ownership or control over the past two months. Late last year, Sinclair moved the Fox affiliation to its ABC-affiliated stations in Chico-Redding and Eureka, California.
