Sinclair Announces Virtual Carriage – Tennis Channel’s T2

Utilizing NEXTGEN Broadcasting Capabilities in all Sinclair Markets

Enhanced with High Dynamic Range (HDR)

HUNT VALLEY, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sinclair Broadcast Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI) today announced that it will carry Tennis Channel’s T2 as a free, streaming, virtual channel in all of its markets nationwide that have deployed the new NextGen Broadcast standard (ATSC 3.0). T2 is Tennis Channel’s second television network. The channel is broadly accessible, especially to younger-adult viewers, and includes matches from the men’s and women’s professional tours and team-cup competitions, as well as the French Open (Roland Garros), one of the sport’s four majors. Other programming includes original series, short-form features and documentaries exclusive to T2. The T2 virtual channel will be available via Sinclair NextGen Broadcast stations. Currently, Sinclair is using the NextGen Broadcast standard in 43 markets.

Carriage of a broadcast-enabled virtual channel involves transmitting programming data within the NextGen Broadcast service allowing over-the-air viewers with a connected NextGen TV to see and select the channel in their programming guide while the channel is delivered over the Internet. Significantly, the T2 programming will use Advanced HDR by Technicolor®. HDR presents the viewer with better contrast, higher brightness, and a wider range of colors, creating a more realistic and immersive visual experience.

NextGen Broadcasting is a revolutionary over-the-air digital broadcast technology that uses the Internet and digital applications powered by the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standards to present viewers with more news and entertainment choices while providing broadcasters with a more compelling and interactive way to deliver their content.

Tennis Channel President, Ken Solomon noted, “With this new NextGen Broadcast platform that Sinclair is leading the way in introducing, people all over the country will have more ways to watch live, top-tier professional sports around the clock, with the best players in the world, all year long. This means hours and hours of daily, continuous play and original programming that only exists on T2.” Mike Kralec, Sinclair’s Chief Technology Officer, added, “We are excited to expand the reach of T2, improve the viewer experience with HDR, and extend our flexible cloud distribution strategies. Delivering high quality programming via connected smart TV provides an initial path for distribution that can precede that same programming eventually being received over-the-air.”

Carriage of T2 as a broadcast-enabled virtual channel coincides with Sinclair’s recent offer to carry public broadcast stations as virtual channels in its markets where the public station is not part of the initial over-the-air NextGen Broadcast deployment. This effort is geared to ‘prime the pump’ for later broadcast carriage to all viewers.

About Sinclair Broadcast Group:

Sinclair Broadcast Group is a subsidiary of Sinclair Inc., (Nasdaq: SBGI) a diversified media company and a leading provider of local news and sports. The Company owns, operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets affiliated with all the major broadcast networks; owns Tennis Channel and multicast networks Comet, CHARGE!, TBD., and The Nest; and owns and provides services to 21 regional sports network brands. Sinclair’s content is delivered via multiple platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and the nation’s largest streaming aggregator of local news content, NewsON. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information which can be accessed at www.sbgi.net.

Category: General