BALTIMORE, Md.—Sinclair is reporting that its Comet, Charge! and TBD diginets grew faster than all other digital multicast networks, across all dayparts in Q3 22.
Driven by the additions of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "CSI:NY", along with nearly 15 million additional TV households, including the key markets of New York, Boston, Atlanta and Tampa – St Petersburg, the networks saw double digit ratings increases, Sinclair announced.
It reported that Comet realized a 31% increase in access, Charge! up 31% in primetime and TBD scored a 27% increase for total day.
Thanks to that growth, Sinclair is also considering the launch of a fourth network in 2023, Broadcasting & Cable reported.
Sinclair’s Growth Networks Group, which oversees the networks, also announcing additional investments in fan-favorite TV series to join the new 2023 network program schedules, set to launch in January.
Comet, home to many of TV’s top sci-fi brands, will be adding new high-profile programs to its lineup in Q1, 2023, including "Stargate SG-1".
Charge!, which features iconic action and adventure TV series, will be adding two hit shows. On January 2, Charge! will anchor its daytime lineup with the premiere of "Without a Trace", the psychological drama.
Later in the quarter, Charge! will launch the long running modern-day Sherlock Holmes CBS procedural drama "Elementary", to late night audiences.
TBD, which features unscripted content, will add an additional run of "World’s Dumbest" to its primetime lineup.
Sinclair also announced that on Charge! launched on the Nexstar owned NBC affiliate on channel 8.2 servicing the Tampa - St Petersburg (Sarasota) market, the 13th ranked DMA, which also includes market wide cable carriage.
With the launch, Sinclair reported that its diginets have added nearly 15 million TV households in new coverage in 2022 through affiliate partnerships with CBS Stations, Cox Media Group, Nexstar Media Group, and Optimum. The networks also added nationwide carriage on Dish Network and Sling TV.
“Digital broadcast television is on the rise as new viewers continue to discover a broad range of free over-the-air digital TV networks. Comet, CHARGE! and TBD are the fastest growing networks in the space, delivering a unique portfolio of network brands featuring fan favorite TV series. We’re excited to continue our investment in these networks and the roll out of our new lineups in January,” said Adam Ware senior vice president Growth Networks Group.
