Key Financial Data
- Total Q1 revenue: $807 million (+4% year over)
- Distribution revenue: $458 million (+2%)
- Core advertising revenue: $305 million (+4%)
- Political advertising revenue: $18 million (+200%)
- Other media/non-media revenue: $26 million (-4%)
- Net income: $20 million (reverses net loss $156 million)
- Read more Q1 2026 media earnings
Sinclair, Inc. on Thursday reported a boost in first quarter (Q1) revenue, driven largely by stronger sports viewership on its local broadcast stations that resulted in larger core and political advertising buys.
Total revenue rose 4 percent to $807 million during the three months ending March 31, while adjusted EBITDA increased 13 percent to $126 million. Net income attributable to Sinclair was $20 million, compared with a net loss of $156 million a year earlier.
Advertising trends were mixed but ultimately positive. Core advertising revenue increased 4 percent year-over-year to $305 million, supported by digital growth, while political advertising surged 200 percent to $18 million as midterm election candidates and campaigns started opening up their budgets to local TV buys.
Live sports programming, including the Super Bowl and Winter Olympic Games on Sinclair-owned NBC affiliates, also boosted the company’s advertising income during Q1. The Super Bowl delivered the second-largest audience in U.S. television history, while the Winter Olympic Games generated record viewing levels to NBC stations and affiliates in key parts of the country, with some of Sinclair’s NBC affiliates being among the most-watched. Sinclair previously told the FCC that sports programming helps the company maintain its financial investments in local news.
Sinclair also highlighted strong performance at the Tennis Channel, which recorded its most-watched month ever in March. The network aired four of the five most-watched matches in its history during the quarter and achieved record direct-to-consumer subscriber levels.
Distribution fees charged to cable and satellite companies for carriage of Sinclair’s local broadcast stations and national multicast networks rose 2 percent, earning the company $458 million. Like other companies, Sinclair has addressed ongoing churn in the pay TV business by raising distribution fees on cable and satellite providers. But Sinclair has also been willing to distribute its national networks like Comet, Charge and Roar on lower-priced streaming platforms and bundles, including Dish Network’s Sling TV and a new entertainment-based package offered by Google’s YouTube TV.
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“Sinclair continues to execute on its core broadcast business, with both ratings and subscriber trends showing positive momentum,” Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley said in a statement. “Broadcast’s reach differentiation continues to drive record viewing levels continuing into a political- and sports-heavy 2026 for the industry.”
Beyond advertising and viewership gains, Sinclair emphasized improvements in its financial position. The company ended the quarter with approximately $1.5 billion in total liquidity, including $844 million in cash, and took steps to reduce debt by retiring $165 million in term loans at a discount in April. That move is expected to lower annual interest expense by about $12 million.
Income gains and expenditure reductions have positioned Sinclair well for the rest of the year, the company affirmed on Thursday. The expects to realize about $30 million in annualized synergies in 2026 from recent station portfolio optimization efforts, to include acquiring stations in key markets and consolidating multiple major network affiliations on single stations in other areas. (In markets like Eureka and Chico-Redding, Sinclair replaced the major network affiliation on a co-owned station with its comedy-centric multicast network Roar.)
Looking ahead, Sinclair reaffirmed its full-year 2026 financial guidance, citing confidence in its outlook amid a favorable environment for political advertising and continued demand for live sports programming.
