What happened
Sinclair Broadcast Group (NASDAQ: SBGI) saw its stock price climb 10.9% this week as of Friday's opening bell, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock had been up as much as 12.5% during the week, and was up 31.7% year to date at the open today.
The markets were up slightly this week, as the S&P 500 gained 0.9%, the Dow climbed 1.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.7% as of Friday morning's opening bell.
So what
Sinclair is a media conglomerate that owns 185 television stations in 86 markets, as well as national and regional networks, including Bally's regional sports networks, and the Tennis Channel.
The stock jumped this week on some good news related to the Tennis Channel and its sister network, T2. The company announced that Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) YouTube TV will pick up both of these channels on its platform, starting June 1, in time for the French Open, one of the grand slam events. The Tennis Channel covers about 93% of all professional tennis events each year.
YouTube TV also picked up Sinclair's Charge! and TBD networks, which cover procedural dramas and reality TV shows, respectively. And it renewed its contract with Sinclair's myNetworkTV affiliates, as well as its sci-fi network Comet.
Now what
Changes are ahead for Sinclair. Last week, it announced that it will undergo a reorganization in which Sinclair Inc. will be the publicly-traded holding company, with Sinclair Broadcast one of its subsidiaries.
Sinclair also owns various ventures outside of its television networks and affiliates, including technical and software services companies, marketing technology businesses, and intellectual property.
And its other media and non-media businesses and assets -- including real estate, venture capital, private equity, and direct investments -- will be part of a new subsidiary, Sinclair Ventures. Shareholders are expected to vote on the reorganization in the second quarter.
CEO Christopher Ripley said: "We believe these other assets, some of which are currently buried in the broadcast division, can receive greater visibility outside the 'broadcast' umbrella, while Sinclair Broadcast will become a broadcast-focused subsidiary for which stockholders can better value its true performance. In short, we believe a holding-company structure can unlock unrecognized value."
The stock is dirt cheap, trading at less than earnings. It has had a rough past few years, dealing with cord-cutting and a shifting television landscape. The stock price has finished the last three calendar years down, and it has a five-year annualized loss of 6.8% per year.
The reorganization might ultimately be a positive, but it's best to sit tight and see if this momentum continues.
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