Sinclair Inks Deal with YouTube TV to Add Tennis Channel, Diginets, Extend Local Carriage

(Image credit: Sinclair)

BALTIMORE—Sinclair Broadcast Group has announced a distribution agreement with YouTube TV to add carriage of Sinclair Tennis Channel and T2, plus diginets CHARGE! and TBD to YouTube TV’s service offerings. The agreement also extends YouTube TV’s existing carriage of Sinclair’s CBS and MyNetworkTV affiliated television broadcast stations.

Tennis Channel, and T2, Tennis Channel’s first free ad-supported TV (FAST) channel, are scheduled to debut June 1, to coincide with Roland-Garros (the French Open). Sinclair’s multicast networks CHARGE!, and TBD are also scheduled to launch on YouTube TV June 1st. Additionally, the agreement renews carriage of Comet, bringing all three of Sinclair’s diginets to YouTube TV’s lineup.

“We are pleased to reach an agreement that brings Tennis Channel, T2 and all three of our Emerging Networks to YouTube TV, a valued partner of ours,” said Will Bell, SVP, Head of Distribution & Network Relations for Sinclair. “As the media landscape continues to evolve, our goal remains the same – to bring our unrivaled content to people wherever they want to experience it. With Roland-Garros kicking-off May 28, the timing is perfect for YouTube TV customers.”

Financial terms of the agreement were not released.

Tom has covered the broadcast technology market for the past 25 years, including three years handling member communications for the National Association of Broadcasters followed by a year as editor of Video Technology News and DTV Business executive newsletters for Phillips Publishing. In 1999 he launched digitalbroadcasting.com for internet B2B portal Verticalnet. He is also a charter member of the CTA's Academy of Digital TV Pioneers. Since 2001, he has been editor-in-chief of TV Tech (www.tvtech.com), the leading source of news and information on broadcast and related media technology and is a frequent contributor and moderator to the brand’s Tech Leadership events.