Sinclair cashed in on political advertising during the third quarter even before the “blue tsunami” officially reached shore. The broadcaster rode a 55% gain in the category compared with the previous midterm election in 2022 to post better-than-expected financial results.
The company said it sold $136 million in political ads during the July-to-September period, with the spending hitting an all-time record of $455 million in 2026, ahead even of the 2024 presidential haul of $405 million. The prior high for a midterm cycle was $333 million in 2022.
Total revenue increased 16% from the prior-year quarter, hitting $893 million. Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $213 million, with earnings per share of 60 cents swinging to the black after a 2-cents-per-share loss a year earlier.
CEO Chris Ripley said more quarterly results are yet to be reported by rival companies, but it appeared that local TV stations as a sector maintained market share levels from prior political cycles. With live sports continuing to pace the overall linear landscape, some political campaigns opted for national broadcast buys rather than local stations, given the comparative expense profiles. That created the odd spectacle of East Coast sports fans being served PAC-funded spots backing Senate candidates in Texas or Iowa.
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In 2015 and 2016, as Donald Trump was rising to dominance, Sinclair played a key role in his unforeseen triumph over Hillary Clinton. At the time, Sinclair was also known for more expressly right-of-center programming and “must-run” editorials. A decade later, and in the wake of Democrats’ stinging rebuke of Trump in the midterms, the climate has shifted. Still, Sinclair remains one of the primary local players, though it is now No. 2 station behind market leader Nexstar.
Rob Weisbord, COO and president of local media, told Wall Street analysts on the company’s earnings call that the political haul this year “bodes well for the upcoming 2028 election cycle, which will be here before we know it. Notably, 2028 will present a dual open primary for both parties, for the presidential nominations. So we expect early and aggressive spending as both parties will want to introduce themselves nationally. While our footprint is well positioned throughout many battleground states, we also believe that the entire broadcast sector did well during the election cycle.”
He added that management commentary at rival companies as well as industry forecasts provide evidence “of local broadcast television being a key delivery platform of political advertising.”