By Jon Lafayette( Broadcasting & Cable )

Sinclair reported a fourth quarter loss as it made a US$495 million payment to settle lawsuits surrounding its bankrupt Diamond Sports Group subsidiary.

In the quarter, Sinclair lost US$341 million, or $5.35 a share, compared to net income of US$55 million, or 79 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding charges and adjustments, Sinclair said the company had net income of US$51 million. Adjusted earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 41 per cent to US$181 million, mainly because of lower political advertising revenues.

Total revenues were down 14 per cent to US$826 million. Media revenues were also down 14 per cent to US$821 million.

Ad revenues were down 28 per cent to US$363 million. Core advertising revenues–excluding political spending–were up 2 per cent to US$339 million.

Distribution revenue edged up to US$422 million.

Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley said that the Diamond settlement better positions regional sports networks, which will remain an important asset for pay-TV bundles.

Sinclair benefits from the strength of pay-TV because it receives retransmission consent payments from distributors based on the number of subscribers they have.

“Sinclair delivered a solid finish to 2023 with our local media segment meeting guidance and Tennis Channel exceeding expectations,” Ripley said.

“During the year and through early January, we continued our commitment to deleveraging, repurchasing over US$91 million in debt,” he said.

He said the the rollout of NextGen broadcast technology is progressing well, and that the industry  will soon be able to capitalize on businesses built on ATSC 3.0.

“We are focused on continuing to drive industry-leading core advertising revenue growth and net retrans growth, and anticipate another record year for political advertising revenue to generate strong financial results in 2024,” he said. https://www.nexttv.com