Who's behind the news?
Who's behind the news?
Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA
Sinclair Broadcast Group (Nasdaq: SBGI) is a television broadcasting company headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland. It owns or operates approximately 190 television stations across more than 100 U.S. markets.
Sinclair has been publicly traded since its 1995 initial public offering, but the Smith family maintains control through a dual-class share structure. Class B shares, held primarily by Smith family members, carry ten votes per share compared to one vote for Class A shares, giving the family approximately 80 percent of voting power despite a smaller share of total equity. David D. Smith, son of founder Julian Sinclair Smith, has served as executive chairman since 2017 and was president and CEO from 1988 to 2017. His brothers, J. Duncan Smith and Frederick G. Smith, also hold executive positions at the company.
Julian Sinclair Smith founded the company as Chesapeake Television in 1971. Following Julian's death in 1994, his four sons continued to lead the company, having purchased their parents' remaining stock in 1990 to consolidate family control. Sinclair went public in 1995. In 2024, David D. Smith separately acquired majority ownership of The Baltimore Sun and its affiliated publications.
Address
Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA
Sources
Britannica Money. Sinclair Broadcast Group | History, Holdings, & Political Controversies
MatrixBCG. Who Owns Sinclair Broadcast Group Company?