Tech

Sinclair CEO Optimistic About Rebound of Sports Rights

By Jen Booton 11.5.2020

Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley says he’s optimistic sports rights will rebound, even as the company reported a sizable third quarter loss amid the pandemic. Sinclair owns 21 FOX regional sports networks around the country.

“We fundamentally believe that sports rights will be worth more in the future than they are today, that this is a growth industry,” Ripley said on an earnings call with analysts.

Sinclair lost $4.2 billion during the third quarter, compared to their loss of just $6 million during the same period in 2019. The results were affected by “a decline in distribution revenue” brought on by the COVID-19 sports blackout, as well as both YouTube TV and Hulu recently dropping Sinclair’s RSNs.

“We intend on reinventing the RSNs around gamification, around community-based fandom and around direct-to-consumer. That’s going to be, we think, incredibly exciting and rewarding for Sinclair,” Ripley added

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