Even as Sinclair Aims to Be a Bigger Broadcaster, It’s Building a New Streaming Service Called Stirr
Big news: Sinclair Broadcasting Group is taking content (news, etc.) from 190 local stations across 80+ markets to launch a national OTT service.
Quote from Christopher Ripley- CEO @ Sinclair Broadcasting Group:
“There will be no broadcasting business in short order…it will all mesh together.”
Interesting: The service will be delivered primarily via OTT, but they will also sign carriage agreements with pay-TV providers (Comcast, etc.) for additional distribution.
Local + National: Stitching together a national OTT offering allows a local broadcaster like Sinclair to also sell national advertising to big brands and move beyond the $5.3B in local digital video spend.
Flashback #1: TV Advertising Has A Marketing Problem
Local video ad spend in 2022 (% of total):
1) Television: $29.8B (80%)
2) Digital: $5.3B (14%)
3) Other: $2.0B (6%)
Flashback #2: Pew Research Center: Local TV News Fact Sheet
Local broadcast station revenue by year (TV only):
1) 2010 — $19.4b
2) 2011 — $17.9b
3) 2012 — $20.3b
4) 2013 — $18.4b
5) 2014 — $20.0b
6) 2015 — $18.5b
7) 2016 — $20.6b
8) 2017 — $19.8b*
9) 2018 — $21.1b*
Flashback #3: Charter Spectrum plans to report local TV news, 24 hours a day, in Los Angeles
More #1: Is Broadcast TV’s Future Over-The-Top?
More #2: Local Broadcasters Prepare to Face Very Different Future
