Sinclair (SBGI) Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference summary

Industry trends and outlook

• Broadcast industry trends are healthy, with moderation in pay TV churn due to rebundling strategies and strong pricing power as broadcast content remains premium and essential for viewers.

• The gap between broadcast viewership share and distribution revenue is narrowing, with arguments for higher compensation due to premium sports and news content.

• Networks' shift to streaming has led to a rebalancing of content costs, benefiting broadcasters as exclusivity declines and costs are shared.

• Political advertising is at record highs, with expectations for continued growth in future election cycles, while digital and audio advertising are offsetting declines in traditional linear spots.

• Investments in cloud, automation, and AI are reducing operational costs and improving efficiency for future years.

Pay TV and consumer behavior

• Cord-cutting is moderating as sports fans remain in the ecosystem and bundled offerings increase value and simplicity for consumers.

• Bundled pay TV packages now offer significant value, with costs dropping from $100 to about $30 per month after accounting for streaming services.

• Consumer fatigue with multiple streaming apps and the unmatched reach of broadcast TV support the resilience of the pay TV model.

• Sports-only digital MVPD packages exist but have limited uptake due to small price differences from full bundles.

• Maintaining consumers within the pay TV ecosystem, regardless of package type, is seen as positive for the industry.

Consolidation and regulatory environment

• Broadcast consolidation has slowed but not stopped, with ongoing market-specific transactions and optimism for further local ownership deregulation.

• The FCC's ownership cap changes and the DOJ's openness to deals are seen as positive, though state AG actions present new challenges.

• Synergies from consolidation are deal-specific, with significant savings in corporate overhead and non-programming expenses in overlapping markets.

• Dyssynergies from combinations are considered minimal.