Sinclair Broadcasting Group CEO Chris Ripley expects the Federal Communications Commission to raise or eliminate its 39% nationwide broadcast ownership cap in the first half of 2026.
In September, the FCC advanced its review of broadcast ownership rules, seeking public comment on retaining, modifying or eliminating the local radio, television and dual network rules. That review comes after the Eighth Circuit Court vacated the FCC’s decision to retain the “top four” rule, which prohibited a single entity from owning or controlling two of the top four television stations in a local market.
The FCC also refreshed the record and asked for public comment in June on whether to retain, modify or eliminate the National Television Multiple Ownership rule, which limits entities from owning or controlling broadcast television stations that, in the aggregate, reach more than 39% of TV households in the United States.
“These regulatory changes came at a critical time. The broadcast sector is facing secular challenges within linear TV, while having a unique opportunity for significant consolidation,” Ripley told analysts during the company’s third quarter earnings call on Wednesday. “We believe the industry is at an inflection point where scale and operational efficiency will increasingly separate high performing companies from the rest.”
The national broadcast ownership cap was first implemented by the FCC in 1941. By 2004, Congress raised the ownership cap to 39% in an effort to ensure viewpoint diversity and prevent monopolization.
Though FCC chairman Brendan Carr has signaled he would be open to lifting or eliminating the cap, the agency’s sole Democrat Anna Gomez has argued that only Congress has the authority to do so. Last week, Carr said that no decision on its review of the ownership cap has been made.
Eliminating or raising the ownership cap would pave the way for more industry consolidation amongst owners of broadcast TV stations. In addition to Sinclair, Nexstar is seeking approval of a $6.2 billion deal with rival Tegna, which would create a combined entity representing a reach of 80% of U.S. TV households.
When looking at the wider industry, Sinclair executives estimated that consolidating two similarly sized broadcast station groups could unlock $600 million to $900 million in annual synergies through mergers and “portfolio optimizations.”
“This level of consolidation would strengthen the industry’s financial footing and position broadcasters as more capable competitors to big media and big tech,” Ripley said. “Equally important, it would help safeguard local, independent and diverse news coverage that community communities across the country rely on.”
“While we present this as one potential industry scenario rather than a prediction, the fundamental point is clear: the regulatory environment now enables transformational consolidation that can benefit broadcast groups, shareholders, creditors, employees and the communities we serve,” he continued. “Sinclair is well positioned in this environment and we’re actively evaluating how best to participate to maximize value for our stakeholders.”
In August, Sinclair launched a strategic review of its broadcast business, which is looking at opportunities including acquisitions, strategic partnerships and business combinations with potential partners in the broadcast and the broader media and technology ecosystem. It is also evaluating the benefits of separating its ventures business through a “spin-off, split-off, or other transaction.”
“Our ideal process would be to do a simultaneous merge and spin, but we certainly don’t view that as an absolute requirement. By our math, just the spin alone would unlock over a billion dollars of value,” Ripley added. “So it’s well worth doing, absent a merger, but a merger and a spin together create the maximum value. So that is our first choice.”
Sinclair owns, operates and/or provides services to 178 television stations in 81 markets affiliated with all the major broadcast networks. It also owns the Tennis Channel and multicast networks Charge, Comet, Roar and the Nest and recently sold its local news streaming aggregator NewsOn to Zeam for an undisclosed amount.
As of Nov. 1, Sinclair has closed 11 partner station acquisitions, 1 station swap, 4-market sale of stations, acquired non-licensed assets in 2 markets and acquired the NBC affiliation in 1 market. It also has 10 option exercises pending FCC approval and two that have been approved and are awaiting final closing. Additionally, Sinclair expects to file several additional partner station acquisitions with the FCC pending the reopening of the federal government.
Ripley noted that the moves would represent at least $30 million in incremental annualized EBITDA once completed.
During its third quarter of 2025, Sinclair’s swung to a net loss of $1 million, compared to a profit of $94 million in the year ago period.Total revenue fell 16% year over year to $773 million during its third quarter of 2025, with media revenue dropping 16% to $765 million, ad revenue falling 26% to $321 million and distribution revenue falling 3% to $422 million.
Sinclair Ventures, LLC also made approximately $6 million in minority investments, as required by outstanding funding commitments and received distributions of approximately $2 million.
For full year 2025, Sinclair is forecasting media revenue in the range of 809 million to $845 million, reflecting an anticipated year over year decline in political advertising revenue. Core advertising revenue is expected in the range of $340 million to $360 million up more than 10% year over year at the midpoint of that range. Distribution revenue is expected to range between $429 million for $441 million due to its renewal conversations during the year.
In 2026, Sinclair expects political advertising revenue to be at least equal to its 2022 record of $333 million based on current pacing and early conversations with buyers. The company is also preparing for “one of the strongest political cycles in recent history” and a “high revenue environment” for local broadcasters in 2028.
Shares of Sinclair jumped 6% in after-hours trading on Wednesday following the earnings announcement.
