Sinclair Broadcast Group’s subsidiary Tennis Channel rings the NASDAQ bell, led by President Ken Soloman.
Gary Gershoff | Getty Images
Sinclair Broadcast announced Friday that it will buy 21 regional sports networks from Disney at a $10.6 billion valuation.
Adjusting for minority equity interests, Sinclair said it bought the assets for $9.6 billion. The broadcasting company said the networks had 74 million subscribers and brought in $3.8 billion in revenue in 2018.
Sinclair President and CEO Chris Ripley said in a statement that the deal will help the company focus on providing stronger premium sports programming.
The deal still requires approval from the Department of Justice, which had demanded that Disney divest the networks when it bought television and film assets from Twenty-First Century Fox for $71 billion. The boards of both Sinclair and Disney have unanimously approved the deal.
Sinclair’s purchase does not include the YES Network, which carries Brooklyn Nets and New York Yankees games.
