BALTIMORE—Sinclair Broadcast Group has announced significant growth in its free over-the-air, national, multicast television networks, Comet, Charge! and TBD.
By September, the multicast network will add over 13 million new households through upgrades and new affiliations in the top 50 DMAs, including New York, Atlanta, Boston, Portland Ore., Indianapolis, and Las Vegas.
In addition to the expansion of the footprint of the networks, Sinclair said that it has signed new agreements that involve moving to stronger broadcast affiliates, several of which include DMA-wide MVPD carriage, through new agreements with CBS Stations, Cox Media Group, Nexstar Media Group, and Optimum, as well as adding nationwide carriage on Dish Network and Sling TV.
More specifically, Charge!, a network for fans of action programming, will have completed the following distribution upgrades by September:
- New York (Market 1) – Launches across the DMA on Optimum channel 148.
- Portland, Ore. (Market 21) and Providence (Market 52) – Moves to Sinclair Broadcast Group owned stations on ABC affiliate KATU channel 2.2 and on NBC affiliate WJAR channel 10.2.
- Nationwide - Launches on Dish Network’s internet-connected set top boxes on channel 290-36 as well as on Sling TV.
Comet, the only broadcast network in the U.S. for fans of sci-fi, will have completed the following distribution upgrades by September:
- Atlanta (Market 7) and Boston (Market 10) – Moves to Cox Media Group owned ABC affiliate WSB channel 2.4 and Fox affiliate WFXT channel 25.2 (which includes DMA-wide MVPD carriage).
- Las Vegas (Market 40) – Moves to Sinclair Broadcast Group owned NBC affiliate KSNV channel 2.3.
TBD, a network for fans of internet content and one of the youngest skewing broadcast networks in the US, will have completed the following distribution upgrades by September:
- Atlanta (Market 7) and Boston (Market 10) - Moves to CBS Stations owned CW affiliate WUPA channel 69.3 and WSBK channel 38.3.
- Indianapolis (Market 25) - Launches on Nexstar Media Group owned CBS affiliate WTTV channel 4.4.
Sinclair also announced new programming additions designed to boost viewing going into the 2022/2023 season.
Those include the launch of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Comet’s primetime lineup on June 6th. The show’s two-hour premiere attracted 543,000 total viewers and boosted viewing in the time period by 108%.
“Charge!, Comet and TBD are some of the fastest growing networks, becoming more popular on paid and free platforms, as we strengthen our affiliate partnerships across the country and continue to invest in fan favorite and familiar TV series and movies,” said Adam Ware senior vice president Growth Networks Group.
