COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	13. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES: Litigation We are a party to lawsuits, claims, and regulatory matters from time to time in the ordinary course of business. Actions currently pending are in various stages and no material judgments or decisions have been rendered by hearing boards or courts in connection with such actions. Except as noted below, we do not believe the outcome of these matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material effect on the Company's financial statements. FCC Litigation Matters. On May 22, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") released an Order and Consent Decree pursuant to which the Company agreed to pay $48 million to resolve the matters covered by a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ("NAL") issued in December 2017 proposing a $13 million fine for alleged violations of the FCC's sponsorship identification rules by the Company and certain of its subsidiaries, the FCC's investigation of the allegations raised in the Hearing Designation Order issued in connection with the Company's proposed acquisition of Tribune, and a retransmission related matter. The Company submitted the $48 million payment on August 19, 2020. As part of the consent decree, the Company also agreed to implement a 4-year compliance plan. Two petitions were filed on June 8, 2020 seeking reconsideration of the Order and Consent Decree. The Company filed an opposition to the petitions on June 18, 2020, and the petitions remain pending. On September 1, 2020, one of the individuals who filed a petition for reconsideration of the Order and Consent Decree filed a petition to deny the license renewal application of WBFF(TV), Baltimore, MD, and the license renewal applications of two other Baltimore, MD stations with which the Company has a JSA or LMA, Deerfield Media station WUTB(TV) and Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation ("Cunningham") station WNUV(TV). The Company filed an opposition to the petition on October 1, 2020. On January 18, 2024, a motion was filed to request substitution of the petitioner, who is deceased. On January 29, 2024, the Company filed (1) an opposition to the motion for substitution and (2) a motion to dismiss the petition to deny the renewal applications. An opposition was filed to the motion to dismiss on February 5, 2024, and the Company timely filed its reply on February 13, 2024, and the matter remains pending. On September 2, 2020, the FCC adopted a Memorandum Opinion and Order and NAL against the licensees of several stations with whom the Company has LMAs, JSAs, and/or SSAs in response to a complaint regarding those stations’ retransmission consent negotiations. The NAL proposed a $0.5 million penalty for each station, totaling $9 million. The licensees filed a response to the NAL on October 15, 2020, asking the FCC to dismiss the proceeding or, alternatively, to reduce the proposed forfeiture to $25,000 per station. On July 28, 2021, the FCC issued a forfeiture order in which the $0.5 million penalty was upheld for all but one station. A Petition for Reconsideration of the forfeiture order was filed on August 7, 2021. On March 14, 2022, the FCC released a Memorandum Opinion and Order and Order on Reconsideration, reaffirming the forfeiture order and dismissing (and in the alternative, denying) the Petition for Reconsideration. The Company is not a party to this forfeiture order; however, our consolidated financial statements include an accrual of additional expenses of $8 million for the above legal matters during the year ended December 31, 2021, as we consolidate these stations as VIEs. On September 21, 2022, the FCC released an NAL against the licensees of a number of stations, including 83 Company stations and several stations with whom the Company has LMAs, JSAs, and/or SSAs, for violation of the FCC's limitations on commercial matter in children’s television programming related to KidsClick network programming distributed by the Company in 2018. The NAL proposed a fine of $2.7 million against the Company, and fines ranging from $20,000 to $26,000 per station for the other licensees, including the LMA, JSA, and/or SSA stations, for a total of $3.4 million. As of December 31, 2023, we have accrued $3.4 million. On October 21, 2022, the Company filed a written response seeking reduction of the proposed fine amount, and the matter remains pending. Other Litigation Matters. On November 6, 2018, the Company agreed to enter into a proposed consent decree with the Department of Justice ("DOJ"). This consent decree resolves the DOJ's investigation into the sharing of pacing information among certain stations in some local markets. The DOJ filed the consent decree and related documents in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on November 13, 2018. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia entered the consent decree on May 22, 2019. The consent decree is not an admission of any wrongdoing by the Company and does not subject the Company to any monetary damages or penalties. The Company believes that even if the pacing information was shared as alleged, it would not have impacted any pricing of advertisements or the competitive nature of the market. The consent decree requires the Company to adopt certain antitrust compliance measures, including the appointment of an Antitrust Compliance Officer, consistent with what the DOJ has required in previous consent decrees in other industries. The consent decree also requires the Company's stations not to exchange pacing and certain other information with other stations in their local markets, which the Company's management had already instructed them not to do. The Company is aware of twenty-two putative class action lawsuits that were filed against the Company following published reports of the DOJ investigation into the exchange of pacing data within the industry. On October 3, 2018, these lawsuits were consolidated in the Northern District of Illinois. The consolidated action alleges that the Company and thirteen other broadcasters conspired to fix prices for commercials to be aired on broadcast television stations throughout the United States and engaged in unlawful information sharing, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The consolidated action seeks damages, attorneys' fees, costs and interest, as well as injunctions against adopting practices or plans that would restrain competition in the ways the plaintiffs have alleged. The Court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss on November 6, 2020. Discovery commenced shortly after that and is continuing. Under the current schedule set by the Court, fact discovery is scheduled to close 90 days after a Special Master completes his review of the plaintiffs' objections to the defendant's privilege claims. That privilege review is ongoing. On August 18, 2023, the defendants filed objections to the Special Master’s First Report and Recommendations with the Court. The Court overruled the defendants’ objections on January 31, 2024. The Special Master has not indicated when he expects to complete his privilege review. On December 8, 2023, the Court granted final approval of the settlements the plaintiffs had reached with four of the original defendants (CBS, Fox, Cox Media, and ShareBuilders), who agreed to pay a total of $48 million to settle the plaintiffs' claims against them. The Company and the other non-settling defendants continue to believe the lawsuits are without merit and intend to vigorously defend themselves against all such claims. On July 19, 2023, as part of the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings of DSG, an independently managed and unconsolidated subsidiary of Sinclair, DSG and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Diamond Sports Net, LLC, filed a complaint (the "Diamond Litigation", under seal, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas naming certain subsidiaries of Sinclair, including SBG and STG, David D. Smith, Sinclair's Executive Chairman, Christopher S. Ripley, Sinclair's President and Chief Executive Officer, Lucy A. Rutishauser, Sinclair's Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, and Scott Shapiro, Sinclair's Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy, as defendants. In the complaint, plaintiffs challenge a series of transactions involving SBG and certain of its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and DSG and its subsidiaries, on the other hand, since SBG acquired the former Fox Sports regional sports networks from The Walt Disney Company in August 2019. The complaint alleges, among other things, that the management services agreement (the "MSA") entered into by STG and DSG was not fair to DSG and was designed to benefit STG and SBG; that the Bally's Corporation ("Bally's") transaction in November 2020 through which Bally's acquired naming rights to certain regional sports networks was not fair to DSG and was designed to benefit STG and SBG; and that certain distributions made by DSG that were used to pay down preferred equity of DSH, were inappropriate and were conducted at a time when DSG was insolvent. The complaint alleges that SBG and its subsidiaries (other than DSG and its subsidiaries) received payments or indirect benefits of approximately $1.5 billion as a result of the alleged misconduct. The complaint asserts a variety of claims, including certain fraudulent transfers of assets, unlawful distributions and payments, breaches of contracts, unjust enrichment and breaches of fiduciary duties. The plaintiffs are seeking, among other relief, avoidance of fraudulent transfers and unlawful distributions, and unspecified monetary damages to be determined. On January 17, 2024, Sinclair announced that it had agreed, subject to definitive documentation and final court approval, to a global settlement and release of all claims associated with the Diamond Litigation, which settlement includes an amendment to the MSA. The settlement terms include, among other things, DSG’s dismissal with prejudice of its $1.5 billion litigation against Sinclair and all other defendants, along with the full and final satisfaction and release of all claims in that litigation against all defendants, including Sinclair and its subsidiaries, in exchange for Sinclair’s cash payment to DSG of $495 million. The cash payment will be funded by cash on hand at Ventures and STG, and/or a loan backed by Ventures. Under the terms of the settlement, Sinclair will provide transition services to DSG to allow DSG to become a self-standing entity going forward. As of December 31, 2023, we have accrued $495 million, exclusive of any potential offsetting benefits to be received, related to the above matter, which is recorded within accounts payable and accrued liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets and corporate general and administrative expenses in our consolidated statement of operations. The settlement is subject to definitive documentation. On February 26, 2024, the court approved the settlement, subject to Sinclair and DSG completing definitive documentation. Sinclair has entered into the settlement, without admitting any fault or wrongdoing. If the settlement does not receive final court approval, Sinclair remains committed to vigorously defending against the claims asserted in the litigation. Changes in the Rules of Television Ownership, Local Marketing Agreements, Joint Sales Agreements, Retransmission Consent Negotiations, and National Ownership Cap Certain of our stations have entered into what have commonly been referred to as local marketing agreements or LMAs. One typical type of LMA is a programming agreement between two separately owned television stations serving the same market, whereby the licensee of one station programs substantial portions of the broadcast day and sells advertising time during such programming segments on the other licensee’s station subject to the latter licensee’s ultimate editorial and other controls. We believe these arrangements allow us to reduce our operating expenses and enhance profitability. In 1999, the FCC established a local television ownership rule that made certain LMAs attributable. The FCC adopted policies to exempt from attribution "legacy" LMAs that were entered into prior to November 5, 1996 and permitted the applicable stations to continue operations pursuant to the LMAs until the conclusion of the FCC’s 2004 biennial review. The FCC stated it would conduct a case-by-case review of legacy LMAs and assess the appropriateness of extending the exemption periods. The FCC did not initiate any review of legacy LMAs in 2004 or as part of its subsequent quadrennial reviews. We do not know when, or if, the FCC will conduct any such review of legacy LMAs. Currently, all of our LMAs are exempt from attribution under the local television ownership rule because they were entered into prior to November 5, 1996. If the FCC were to eliminate the exemption for these LMAs, we would have to terminate or modify these LMAs. In September 2015, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in response to a Congressional directive in STELAR to examine the "totality of the circumstances test" for good-faith negotiations of retransmission consent. The proposed rulemaking seeks comment on new factors and evidence to consider in its evaluation of claims of bad faith negotiation, including service interruptions prior to a "marquee sports or entertainment event," restrictions on online access to broadcast programming during negotiation impasses, broadcasters' ability to offer bundles of broadcast signals with other broadcast stations or cable networks, and broadcasters' ability to invoke the FCC's exclusivity rules during service interruptions. On July 14, 2016, the FCC’s Chairman at the time announced that the FCC would not, at that time, proceed to adopt additional rules governing good faith negotiations of retransmission consent but did not formally terminate the rulemaking. No formal action has yet been taken on this Proposed Rulemaking, and we cannot predict if the FCC will terminate the rulemaking or take other action. On November 20, 2017, the FCC released an Ownership Order on Reconsideration that eliminated or revised several media ownership rules. Among other things, the Order on Reconsideration (1) eliminated the “Eight-Voices Test” that previously allowed common ownership of two stations in a single market only if eight or more independently-owned television stations would remain in the market (allowing common ownership of up to two stations in a market as long as such ownership does not violate the Top-Four Prohibition), and (3) eliminated the JSA attribution rule. The Ownership Order on Reconsideration was vacated and remanded by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in September 2019, but the Supreme Court ultimately reversed the Third Circuit’s decision on April 1, 2021 and the Ownership Order on Reconsideration became effective on June 30, 2021. On December 18, 2017, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to examine the FCC’s national ownership cap, including the UHF discount. The UHF discount allows television station owners to discount the coverage of UHF stations when calculating compliance with the FCC's national ownership cap, which prohibits a single entity from owning television stations that reach, in total, more than 39% of all the television households in the nation. All but 34 of the stations we currently own and operate, or to which we provide programming services are UHF. We cannot predict the outcome of the rulemaking proceeding. With the application of the UHF discount counting all our present stations we reach approximately 24% of U.S. households. Changes to the national ownership cap could limit our ability to make television station acquisitions. On December 13, 2018, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to initiate the 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review of the FCC’s broadcast ownership rules. With respect to the local television ownership rule specifically, among other things, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking sought comment on possible modifications to the rule’s operation, including the relevant product market, the numerical limit, the Top-Four Prohibition, and the implications of multicasting, satellite stations, low power television ("LPTV") stations and the Next Generation broadcasting standard. On December 22, 2023, the FCC completed its 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review (the "2018 Ownership Order"). The 2018 Ownership Order declined to loosen or eliminate any of the existing television ownership rules and expanded the Top-Four Prohibition to multicast streams and LPTV stations, each of which were not previously considered as part of the local television ownership rules. The expanded rule prohibits a broadcaster with a top-four-rated television station from acquiring the network affiliation of another top-four rated station in the market and airing that second top-four network on a multicast stream or commonly owned LPTV station under certain circumstances. Affiliation arrangements existing as of the release of the 2018 Ownership Order that would otherwise violate the expanded Top-Four Prohibition will not be subject to divestiture, but such arrangements will not be transferrable or assignable. The 2018 Ownership Order also revised the methodology for determining whether a station is rated among the top-four stations in the market, retained the SSA disclosure requirement, and declined to attribute SSAs or JSAs. The 2018 Ownership Order’s expansion of the Top-Four Prohibition to multicast streams and LPTV stations may affect the Company’s ability to acquire programming or to sell or acquire stations due to the need to divest grandfathered affiliations. On December 22, 2022, the FCC released a Public Notice to initiate the 2022 Quadrennial Regulatory Review, seeking comment on the Local Radio Ownership Rule, the Local Television Ownership Rule, and the Dual Network Rule. This proceeding remains pending. We cannot predict the outcome of that rulemaking proceeding. Changes to these rules could impact our ability to make radio or television station acquisitions.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, LLC
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	12. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES: Litigation SBG is party to lawsuits, claims, and regulatory matters from time to time in the ordinary course of business. Actions currently pending are in various stages and no material judgments or decisions have been rendered by hearing boards or courts in connection with such actions. Except as noted below, SBG does not believe the outcome of these matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material effect on SBG's financial statements. FCC Litigation Matters. On May 22, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") released an Order and Consent Decree pursuant to which the Company agreed to pay $48 million to resolve the matters covered by a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ("NAL") issued in December 2017 proposing a $13 million fine for alleged violations of the FCC's sponsorship identification rules by the Company and certain of its subsidiaries, the FCC's investigation of the allegations raised in the Hearing Designation Order issued in connection with the Company's proposed acquisition of Tribune, and a retransmission related matter. The Company submitted the $48 million payment on August 19, 2020. As part of the consent decree, the Company also agreed to implement a 4-year compliance plan. Two petitions were filed on June 8, 2020 seeking reconsideration of the Order and Consent Decree. The Company filed an opposition to the petitions on June 18, 2020, and the petitions remain pending. On September 1, 2020, one of the individuals who filed a petition for reconsideration of the Order and Consent Decree filed a petition to deny the license renewal application of WBFF(TV), Baltimore, MD, and the license renewal applications of two other Baltimore, MD stations with which the Company has a JSA or LMA, Deerfield Media station WUTB(TV) and Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation ("Cunningham") station WNUV(TV). The Company filed an opposition to the petition on October 1, 2020. On January 18, 2024, a motion was filed to request substitution of the petitioner, who is deceased. On January 29, 2024, the Company filed (1) an opposition to the motion for substitution and (2) a motion to dismiss the petition to deny the renewal applications. An opposition was filed to the motion to dismiss on February 5, 2024, and the Company timely filed its reply on February 13, 2024, and the matter remains pending. On September 2, 2020, the FCC adopted a Memorandum Opinion and Order and NAL against the licensees of several stations with whom the Company has LMAs, JSAs, and/or SSAs in response to a complaint regarding those stations' retransmission consent negotiations. The NAL proposed a $0.5 million penalty for each station, totaling $9 million. The licensees filed a response to the NAL on October 15, 2020, asking the Commission to dismiss the proceeding or, alternatively, to reduce the proposed forfeiture to $25,000 per station. On July 28, 2021, the FCC issued a forfeiture order in which the $0.5 million penalty was upheld for all but one station. A Petition for Reconsideration of the forfeiture order was filed on August 7, 2021. On March 14, 2022, the FCC released a Memorandum Opinion and Order and Order on Reconsideration, reaffirming the forfeiture order and dismissing (and in the alternative, denying) the Petition for Reconsideration. The Company is not a party to this forfeiture order; however, SBG's consolidated financial statements include an accrual of additional expenses of $8 million for the above legal matters during the year ended December 31, 2021, as SBG consolidates these stations as VIEs. On September 21, 2022, the FCC released an NAL against the licensees of a number of stations, including 83 SBG stations and several stations with whom SBG has LMAs, JSAs, and/or SSAs, for violation of the FCC's limitations on commercial matter in children’s television programming related to KidsClick network programming distributed by the Company in 2018. The NAL proposed a fine of $2.7 million against the Company, and fines ranging from $20,000 to $26,000 per station for the other licensees, including the LMA, JSA, and/or SSA stations, for a total of $3.4 million. As of December 31, 2023, SBG has accrued $3.4 million. On October 21, 2022, the Company filed a written response seeking reduction of the proposed fine amount, and the matter remains pending. Other Litigation Matters. On November 6, 2018, the Company agreed to enter into a proposed consent decree with the Department of Justice ("DOJ"). This consent decree resolves the DOJ's investigation into the sharing of pacing information among certain stations in some local markets. The DOJ filed the consent decree and related documents in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on November 13, 2018. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia entered the consent decree on May 22, 2019. The consent decree is not an admission of any wrongdoing by the Company and does not subject the Company to any monetary damages or penalties. The Company believes that even if the pacing information was shared as alleged, it would not have impacted any pricing of advertisements or the competitive nature of the market. The consent decree requires the Company to adopt certain antitrust compliance measures, including the appointment of an Antitrust Compliance Officer, consistent with what the DOJ has required in previous consent decrees in other industries. The consent decree also requires the Company's stations not to exchange pacing and certain other information with other stations in their local markets, which the Company's management had already instructed them not to do. The Company is aware of twenty-two putative class action lawsuits that were filed against the Company following published reports of the DOJ investigation into the exchange of pacing data within the industry. On October 3, 2018, these lawsuits were consolidated in the Northern District of Illinois. The consolidated action alleges that the Company and thirteen other broadcasters conspired to fix prices for commercials to be aired on broadcast television stations throughout the United States and engaged in unlawful information sharing, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The consolidated action seeks damages, attorneys' fees, costs and interest, as well as injunctions against adopting practices or plans that would restrain competition in the ways the plaintiffs have alleged. The Court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss on November 6, 2020. Discovery commenced shortly after that and is continuing. Under the current schedule set by the Court, fact discovery is scheduled to close 90 days after a Special Master completes his review of the plaintiffs' objections to the defendant's privilege claims. That privilege review is ongoing. On August 18, 2023, the defendants filed objections to the Special Master’s First Report and Recommendations with the Court. The Court overruled the defendants’ objections on January 31, 2024. The Special Master has not indicated when he expects to complete his privilege review. On December 8, 2023, the Court granted final approval of the settlements the plaintiffs had reached with four of the original defendants (CBS, Fox, Cox Media, and ShareBuilders), who agreed to pay a total of $48 million to settle the plaintiffs' claims against them. The Company and the other non-settling defendants continue to believe the lawsuits are without merit and intend to vigorously defend themselves against all such claims. On July 19, 2023, as part of the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings of DSG, an independently managed and unconsolidated subsidiary of Sinclair, DSG and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Diamond Sports Net, LLC, filed a complaint (the "DSG Litigation"), under seal, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas naming certain subsidiaries of Sinclair, including SBG and STG, David D. Smith, Sinclair's Executive Chairman, Christopher S. Ripley, Sinclair's President and Chief Executive Officer, Lucy A. Rutishauser, Sinclair's Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, and Scott Shapiro, Sinclair's Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy, as defendants. In the complaint, plaintiffs challenge a series of transactions involving SBG and certain of its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and DSG and its subsidiaries, on the other hand, since SBG acquired the former Fox Sports regional sports networks from The Walt Disney Company in August 2019. The complaint alleges, among other things, that the management services agreement (the "MSA") entered into by STG and DSG was not fair to DSG and was designed to benefit STG and SBG; that the Bally's Corporation ("Bally's") transaction in November 2020 through which Bally's acquired naming rights to certain regional sports networks was not fair to DSG and was designed to benefit STG and SBG; and that certain distributions made by DSG that were used to pay down preferred equity of DSH, were inappropriate and were conducted at a time when DSG was insolvent. The complaint alleges that SBG and its subsidiaries (other than DSG and its subsidiaries) received payments or indirect benefits of approximately $1.5 billion as a result of the alleged misconduct. The complaint asserts a variety of claims, including certain fraudulent transfers of assets, unlawful distributions and payments, breaches of contracts, unjust enrichment and breaches of fiduciary duties. The plaintiffs are seeking, among other relief, avoidance of fraudulent transfers and unlawful distributions, and unspecified monetary damages to be determined. The defendants believe the allegations in this lawsuit are without merit and intend to vigorously defend against plaintiffs' claims. On January 17, 2024, Sinclair announced that it had agreed, subject to definitive documentation and final court approval, to a global settlement and release of all claims associated with the Diamond Litigation, which settlement includes an amendment to the MSA. The settlement terms include, among other things, DSG’s dismissal with prejudice of its $1.5 billion litigation against Sinclair and all other defendants, along with the full and final satisfaction and release of all claims in that litigation against all defendants, including Sinclair and its subsidiaries, in exchange for Sinclair’s cash payment to DSG of $495 million. The cash payment will be funded by cash on hand at Ventures and STG, and/or a loan backed by Ventures. Under the terms of the settlement, Sinclair will provide transition services to DSG to allow DSG to become a self-standing entity going forward. As of December 31, 2023, we have accrued $495 million, exclusive of any potential offsetting benefits to be received, related to the above matter, which is recorded within accounts payable and accrued liabilities in SBG's consolidated balance sheets and corporate general and administrative expenses in in SBG's consolidated statements of operations. The settlement is subject to definitive documentation. On February 26, 2024, the court approved the settlement, subject to Sinclair and DSG completing definitive documentation. Sinclair has entered into the settlement, without admitting any fault or wrongdoing. If the settlement does not receive final court approval, Sinclair remains committed to vigorously defending against the claims asserted in the litigation. Changes in the Rules of Television Ownership, Local Marketing Agreements, Joint Sales Agreements, Retransmission Consent Negotiations, and National Ownership Cap Certain of SBG's stations have entered into what have commonly been referred to as local marketing agreements or LMAs. One typical type of LMA is a programming agreement between two separately owned television stations serving the same market, whereby the licensee of one station programs substantial portions of the broadcast day and sells advertising time during such programming segments on the other licensee’s station subject to the latter licensee’s ultimate editorial and other controls. SBG believes these arrangements allow it to reduce SBG's operating expenses and enhance profitability. In 1999, the FCC established a local television ownership rule that made certain LMAs attributable. The FCC adopted policies to exempt from attribution "legacy" LMAs that were entered into prior to November 5, 1996 and permitted the applicable stations to continue operations pursuant to the LMAs until the conclusion of the FCC’s 2004 biennial review. The FCC stated it would conduct a case-by-case review of legacy LMAs and assess the appropriateness of extending the exemption periods. The FCC did not initiate any review of legacy LMAs in 2004 or as part of its subsequent quadrennial reviews. SBG does not know when, or if, the FCC will conduct any such review of legacy LMAs. Currently, all of SBG's LMAs are exempt from attribution under the local television ownership rule because they were entered into prior to November 5, 1996. If the FCC were to eliminate the exemption for these LMAs, SBG would have to terminate or modify these LMAs. In September 2015, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in response to a Congressional directive in STELAR to examine the "totality of the circumstances test" for good-faith negotiations of retransmission consent. The proposed rulemaking seeks comment on new factors and evidence to consider in its evaluation of claims of bad faith negotiation, including service interruptions prior to a "marquee sports or entertainment event," restrictions on online access to broadcast programming during negotiation impasses, broadcasters' ability to offer bundles of broadcast signals with other broadcast stations or cable networks, and broadcasters' ability to invoke the FCC's exclusivity rules during service interruptions. On July 14, 2016, the FCC’s Chairman at the time announced that the FCC would not, at that time, proceed to adopt additional rules governing good faith negotiations of retransmission consent but did not formally terminate the rulemaking. No formal action has yet been taken on this Proposed Rulemaking, and SBG cannot predict if the FCC will terminate the rulemaking or take other action. On November 20, 2017, the FCC released an Ownership Order on Reconsideration that eliminated or revised several media ownership rules. Among other things, the Order on Reconsideration (1) retained the “Top-Four Prohibition” (which generally restricts common ownership of two top-four rated stations in a market) but introduced a process by which entities could seek a waiver of the Top-Four Prohibition on a case-by-case basis; (2) eliminated the “Eight-Voices Test” that previously allowed common ownership of two stations in a single market only if eight or more independently-owned television stations would remain in the market (allowing common ownership of up to two stations in a market as long as such ownership does not violate the Top-Four Prohibition), and (3) eliminated the JSA attribution rule. The Ownership Order on Reconsideration was vacated and remanded by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in September 2019, but the Supreme Court ultimately reversed the Third Circuit’s decision on April 1, 2021 and the Ownership Order on Reconsideration became effective on June 30, 2021. On December 18, 2017, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to examine the FCC’s national ownership cap, including the UHF discount. The UHF discount allows television station owners to discount the coverage of UHF stations when calculating compliance with the FCC's national ownership cap, which prohibits a single entity from owning television stations that reach, in total, more than 39% of all the television households in the nation. All but 34 of the stations SBG currently owns and operates, or to which SBG provides programming services are UHF. SBG cannot predict the outcome of the rulemaking proceeding. With the application of the UHF discount counting all of SBG's present stations SBG reaches approximately 24% of U.S. households. Changes to the national ownership cap could limit SBG's ability to make television station acquisitions. On December 13, 2018, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to initiate the 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review of the FCC’s broadcast ownership rules. With respect to the local television ownership rule specifically, among other things, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking sought comment on possible modifications to the rule’s operation, including the relevant product market, the numerical limit, the Top-Four Prohibition; and the implications of multicasting, satellite stations, low power television ("LPTV") stations and the Next Generation broadcasting standard. On December 22, 2023, the FCC completed its 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review (the "2018 Ownership Order"). The 2018 Ownership Order declined to loosen or eliminate any of the existing television ownership rules and expanded the Top-Four Prohibition to multicast streams and LPTV stations, each of which were not previously considered as part of the local television ownership rules. The expanded rule prohibits a broadcaster with a top-four-rated television station from acquiring the network affiliation of another top-four rated station in the market and airing that second top-four network on a multicast stream or commonly owned LPTV station under certain circumstances. Affiliation arrangements existing as of the release of the 2018 Ownership Order that would otherwise violate the expanded Top-Four Prohibition will not be subject to divestiture, but such arrangements will not be transferrable or assignable. The 2018 Ownership Order also revised the methodology for determining whether a station is rated among the top-four stations in the market, retained the SSA disclosure requirement, and declined to attribute SSAs or JSAs. The 2018 Ownership Order’s expansion of the Top-Four Prohibition to multicast streams and LPTV stations may affect the Company’s ability to acquire programming or to sell or acquire stations due to the need to divest grandfathered affiliations. On December 22, 2022, the FCC released a Public Notice to initiate the 2022 Quadrennial Regulatory Review, seeking comment on the Local Radio Ownership Rule, the Local Television Ownership Rule, and the Dual Network Rule and the proceeding remains pending. We cannot predict the outcome of that rulemaking proceeding. Changes to these rules could impact our ability to make radio or television station acquisitions.

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

13. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES:

Litigation

We are a party to lawsuits, claims, and regulatory matters from time to time in the ordinary course of business. Actions currently pending are in various stages and no material judgments or decisions have been rendered by hearing boards or courts in connection with such actions. Except as noted below, we do not believe the outcome of these matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material effect on the Company's financial statements.

FCC Litigation Matters. On May 22, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") released an Order and Consent Decree pursuant to which the Company agreed to pay $48 million to resolve the matters covered by a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ("NAL") issued in December 2017 proposing a $13 million fine for alleged violations of the FCC's sponsorship identification rules by the Company and certain of its subsidiaries, the FCC's investigation of the allegations raised in the Hearing Designation Order issued in connection with the Company's proposed acquisition of Tribune, and a retransmission related matter. The Company submitted the $48 million payment on August 19, 2020. As part of the consent decree, the Company also agreed to implement a 4-year compliance plan. Two petitions were filed on June 8, 2020 seeking reconsideration of the Order and Consent Decree. The Company filed an opposition to the petitions on June 18, 2020, and the petitions remain pending.

On September 1, 2020, one of the individuals who filed a petition for reconsideration of the Order and Consent Decree filed a petition to deny the license renewal application of WBFF(TV), Baltimore, MD, and the license renewal applications of two other Baltimore, MD stations with which the Company has a JSA or LMA, Deerfield Media station WUTB(TV) and Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation ("Cunningham") station WNUV(TV). The Company filed an opposition to the petition on October 1, 2020. On January 18, 2024, a motion was filed to request substitution of the petitioner, who is deceased. On January 29, 2024, the Company filed (1) an opposition to the motion for substitution and (2) a motion to dismiss the petition to deny the renewal applications. An opposition was filed to the motion to dismiss on February 5, 2024, and the Company timely filed its reply on February 13, 2024, and the matter remains pending.

On September 2, 2020, the FCC adopted a Memorandum Opinion and Order and NAL against the licensees of several stations with whom the Company has LMAs, JSAs, and/or SSAs in response to a complaint regarding those stations’ retransmission consent negotiations. The NAL proposed a $0.5 million penalty for each station, totaling $9 million. The licensees filed a response to the NAL on October 15, 2020, asking the FCC to dismiss the proceeding or, alternatively, to reduce the proposed forfeiture to $25,000 per station. On July 28, 2021, the FCC issued a forfeiture order in which the $0.5 million penalty was upheld for all but one station. A Petition for Reconsideration of the forfeiture order was filed on August 7, 2021. On March 14, 2022, the FCC released a Memorandum Opinion and Order and Order on Reconsideration, reaffirming the forfeiture order and dismissing (and in the alternative, denying) the Petition for Reconsideration. The Company is not a party to this forfeiture order; however, our consolidated financial statements include an accrual of additional expenses of $8 million for the above legal matters during the year ended December 31, 2021, as we consolidate these stations as VIEs.

On September 21, 2022, the FCC released an NAL against the licensees of a number of stations, including 83 Company stations and several stations with whom the Company has LMAs, JSAs, and/or SSAs, for violation of the FCC's limitations on commercial matter in children’s television programming related to KidsClick network programming distributed by the Company in 2018. The NAL proposed a fine of $2.7 million against the Company, and fines ranging from $20,000 to $26,000 per station for the other licensees, including the LMA, JSA, and/or SSA stations, for a total of $3.4 million. As of December 31, 2023, we have accrued $3.4 million. On October 21, 2022, the Company filed a written response seeking reduction of the proposed fine amount, and the matter remains pending.

Other Litigation Matters. On November 6, 2018, the Company agreed to enter into a proposed consent decree with the Department of Justice ("DOJ"). This consent decree resolves the DOJ's investigation into the sharing of pacing information among certain stations in some local markets. The DOJ filed the consent decree and related documents in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on November 13, 2018. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia entered the consent decree on May 22, 2019. The consent decree is not an admission of any wrongdoing by the Company and does not subject the Company to any monetary damages or penalties. The Company believes that even if the pacing information was shared as alleged, it would not have impacted any pricing of advertisements or the competitive nature of the market. The consent decree requires the Company to adopt certain antitrust compliance measures, including the appointment of an Antitrust Compliance Officer, consistent with what the DOJ has required in previous consent decrees in other industries. The consent decree also requires the Company's stations not to exchange pacing and certain other information with other stations in their local markets, which the Company's management had already instructed them not to do.

The Company is aware of twenty-two putative class action lawsuits that were filed against the Company following published reports of the DOJ investigation into the exchange of pacing data within the industry. On October 3, 2018, these lawsuits were consolidated in the Northern District of Illinois. The consolidated action alleges that the Company and thirteen other broadcasters conspired to fix prices for commercials to be aired on broadcast television stations throughout the United States and engaged in unlawful information sharing, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The consolidated action seeks damages, attorneys' fees, costs and interest, as well as injunctions against adopting practices or plans that would restrain competition in the ways the plaintiffs have alleged. The Court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss on November 6, 2020. Discovery commenced shortly after that and is continuing. Under the current schedule set by the Court, fact discovery is scheduled to close 90 days after a Special Master completes his review of the plaintiffs' objections to the defendant's privilege claims. That privilege review is ongoing. On August 18, 2023, the defendants filed objections to the Special Master’s First Report and Recommendations with the Court. The Court overruled the defendants’ objections on January 31, 2024. The Special Master has not indicated when he expects to complete his privilege review. On December 8, 2023, the Court granted final approval of the settlements the plaintiffs had reached with four of the original defendants (CBS, Fox, Cox Media, and ShareBuilders), who agreed to pay a total of $48 million to settle the plaintiffs' claims against them. The Company and the other non-settling defendants continue to believe the lawsuits are without merit and intend to vigorously defend themselves against all such claims.

On July 19, 2023, as part of the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings of DSG, an independently managed and unconsolidated subsidiary of Sinclair, DSG and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Diamond Sports Net, LLC, filed a complaint (the "Diamond Litigation", under seal, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas naming certain subsidiaries of Sinclair, including SBG and STG, David D. Smith, Sinclair's Executive Chairman, Christopher S. Ripley, Sinclair's President and Chief Executive Officer, Lucy A. Rutishauser, Sinclair's Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, and Scott Shapiro, Sinclair's Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy, as defendants.

In the complaint, plaintiffs challenge a series of transactions involving SBG and certain of its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and DSG and its subsidiaries, on the other hand, since SBG acquired the former Fox Sports regional sports networks from The Walt Disney Company in August 2019. The complaint alleges, among other things, that the management services agreement (the "MSA") entered into by STG and DSG was not fair to DSG and was designed to benefit STG and SBG; that the Bally's Corporation ("Bally's") transaction in November 2020 through which Bally's acquired naming rights to certain regional sports networks was not fair to DSG and was designed to benefit STG and SBG; and that certain distributions made by DSG that were used to pay down preferred equity of DSH, were inappropriate and were conducted at a time when DSG was insolvent. The complaint alleges that SBG and its subsidiaries (other than DSG and its subsidiaries) received payments or indirect benefits of approximately $1.5 billion as a result of the alleged misconduct. The complaint asserts a variety of claims, including certain fraudulent transfers of assets, unlawful distributions and payments, breaches of contracts, unjust enrichment and breaches of fiduciary duties. The plaintiffs are seeking, among other relief, avoidance of fraudulent transfers and unlawful distributions, and unspecified monetary damages to be determined.

On January 17, 2024, Sinclair announced that it had agreed, subject to definitive documentation and final court approval, to a global settlement and release of all claims associated with the Diamond Litigation, which settlement includes an amendment to the MSA. The settlement terms include, among other things, DSG’s dismissal with prejudice of its $1.5 billion litigation against Sinclair and all other defendants, along with the full and final satisfaction and release of all claims in that litigation against all defendants, including Sinclair and its subsidiaries, in exchange for Sinclair’s cash payment to DSG of $495 million. The cash payment will be funded by cash on hand at Ventures and STG, and/or a loan backed by Ventures. Under the terms of the settlement, Sinclair will provide transition services to DSG to allow DSG to become a self-standing entity going forward. As of December 31, 2023, we have accrued $495 million, exclusive of any potential offsetting benefits to be received, related to the above matter, which is recorded within accounts payable and accrued liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets and corporate general and administrative expenses in our consolidated statement of operations.

The settlement is subject to definitive documentation. On February 26, 2024, the court approved the settlement, subject to Sinclair and DSG completing definitive documentation.

Sinclair has entered into the settlement, without admitting any fault or wrongdoing. If the settlement does not receive final court approval, Sinclair remains committed to vigorously defending against the claims asserted in the litigation.

Changes in the Rules of Television Ownership, Local Marketing Agreements, Joint Sales Agreements, Retransmission Consent Negotiations, and National Ownership Cap

Certain of our stations have entered into what have commonly been referred to as local marketing agreements or LMAs. One typical type of LMA is a programming agreement between two separately owned television stations serving the same market, whereby the licensee of one station programs substantial portions of the broadcast day and sells advertising time during such programming segments on the other licensee’s station subject to the latter licensee’s ultimate editorial and other controls. We believe these arrangements allow us to reduce our operating expenses and enhance profitability.

In 1999, the FCC established a local television ownership rule that made certain LMAs attributable. The FCC adopted policies to exempt from attribution "legacy" LMAs that were entered into prior to November 5, 1996 and permitted the applicable stations to continue operations pursuant to the LMAs until the conclusion of the FCC’s 2004 biennial review. The FCC stated it would conduct a case-by-case review of legacy LMAs and assess the appropriateness of extending the exemption periods. The FCC did not initiate any review of legacy LMAs in 2004 or as part of its subsequent quadrennial reviews. We do not know when, or if, the FCC will conduct any such review of legacy LMAs. Currently, all of our LMAs are exempt from attribution under the local television ownership rule because they were entered into prior to November 5, 1996. If the FCC were to eliminate the exemption for these LMAs, we would have to terminate or modify these LMAs.

In September 2015, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in response to a Congressional directive in STELAR to examine the "totality of the circumstances test" for good-faith negotiations of retransmission consent. The proposed rulemaking seeks comment on new factors and evidence to consider in its evaluation of claims of bad faith negotiation, including service interruptions prior to a "marquee sports or entertainment event," restrictions on online access to broadcast programming during negotiation impasses, broadcasters' ability to offer bundles of broadcast signals with other broadcast stations or cable networks, and broadcasters' ability to invoke the FCC's exclusivity rules during service interruptions. On July 14, 2016, the FCC’s Chairman at the time announced that the FCC would not, at that time, proceed to adopt additional rules governing good faith negotiations of retransmission consent but did not formally terminate the rulemaking. No formal action has yet been taken on this Proposed Rulemaking, and we cannot predict if the FCC will terminate the rulemaking or take other action.

On November 20, 2017, the FCC released an Ownership Order on Reconsideration that eliminated or revised several media ownership rules. Among other things, the Order on Reconsideration (1) eliminated the “Eight-Voices Test” that previously allowed common ownership of two stations in a single market only if eight or more independently-owned television stations would remain in the market (allowing common ownership of up to two stations in a market as long as such ownership does not violate the Top-Four Prohibition), and (3) eliminated the JSA attribution rule. The Ownership Order on Reconsideration was vacated and remanded by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in September 2019, but the Supreme Court ultimately reversed the Third Circuit’s decision on April 1, 2021 and the Ownership Order on Reconsideration became effective on June 30, 2021.

On December 18, 2017, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to examine the FCC’s national ownership cap, including the UHF discount. The UHF discount allows television station owners to discount the coverage of UHF stations when calculating compliance with the FCC's national ownership cap, which prohibits a single entity from owning television stations that reach, in total, more than 39% of all the television households in the nation. All but 34 of the stations we currently own and operate, or to which we provide programming services are UHF. We cannot predict the outcome of the rulemaking proceeding. With the application of the UHF discount counting all our present stations we reach approximately 24% of U.S. households. Changes to the national ownership cap could limit our ability to make television station acquisitions.

On December 13, 2018, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to initiate the 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review of the FCC’s broadcast ownership rules. With respect to the local television ownership rule specifically, among other things, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking sought comment on possible modifications to the rule’s operation, including the relevant product market, the numerical limit, the Top-Four Prohibition, and the implications of multicasting, satellite stations, low power television ("LPTV") stations and the Next Generation broadcasting standard. On December 22, 2023, the FCC completed its 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review (the "2018 Ownership Order"). The 2018 Ownership Order declined to loosen or eliminate any of the existing television ownership rules and expanded the Top-Four Prohibition to multicast streams and LPTV stations, each of which were not previously considered as part of the local television ownership rules. The expanded rule prohibits a broadcaster with a top-four-rated television station from acquiring the network affiliation of another top-four rated station in the market and airing that second top-four network on a multicast stream or commonly owned LPTV station under certain circumstances. Affiliation arrangements existing as of the release of the 2018 Ownership Order that would otherwise violate the expanded Top-Four Prohibition will not be subject to divestiture, but such arrangements will not be transferrable or assignable. The 2018 Ownership Order also revised the methodology for determining whether a station is rated among the top-four stations in the market, retained the SSA disclosure requirement, and declined to attribute SSAs or JSAs. The 2018 Ownership Order’s expansion of the Top-Four Prohibition to multicast streams and LPTV stations may affect the Company’s ability to acquire programming or to sell or acquire stations due to the need to divest grandfathered affiliations.

On December 22, 2022, the FCC released a Public Notice to initiate the 2022 Quadrennial Regulatory Review, seeking comment on the Local Radio Ownership Rule, the Local Television Ownership Rule, and the Dual Network Rule. This proceeding remains pending. We cannot predict the outcome of that rulemaking proceeding. Changes to these rules could impact our ability to make radio or television station acquisitions.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, LLC

Loss Contingencies [Line Items]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES:

Litigation

SBG is party to lawsuits, claims, and regulatory matters from time to time in the ordinary course of business. Actions currently pending are in various stages and no material judgments or decisions have been rendered by hearing boards or courts in connection with such actions. Except as noted below, SBG does not believe the outcome of these matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material effect on SBG's financial statements.

On September 2, 2020, the FCC adopted a Memorandum Opinion and Order and NAL against the licensees of several stations with whom the Company has LMAs, JSAs, and/or SSAs in response to a complaint regarding those stations' retransmission consent negotiations. The NAL proposed a $0.5 million penalty for each station, totaling $9 million. The licensees filed a response to the NAL on October 15, 2020, asking the Commission to dismiss the proceeding or, alternatively, to reduce the proposed forfeiture to $25,000 per station. On July 28, 2021, the FCC issued a forfeiture order in which the $0.5 million penalty was upheld for all but one station. A Petition for Reconsideration of the forfeiture order was filed on August 7, 2021. On March 14, 2022, the FCC released a Memorandum Opinion and Order and Order on Reconsideration, reaffirming the forfeiture order and dismissing (and in the alternative, denying) the Petition for Reconsideration. The Company is not a party to this forfeiture order; however, SBG's consolidated financial statements include an accrual of additional expenses of $8 million for the above legal matters during the year ended December 31, 2021, as SBG consolidates these stations as VIEs.

On September 21, 2022, the FCC released an NAL against the licensees of a number of stations, including 83 SBG stations and several stations with whom SBG has LMAs, JSAs, and/or SSAs, for violation of the FCC's limitations on commercial matter in children’s television programming related to KidsClick network programming distributed by the Company in 2018. The NAL proposed a fine of $2.7 million against the Company, and fines ranging from $20,000 to $26,000 per station for the other licensees, including the LMA, JSA, and/or SSA stations, for a total of $3.4 million. As of December 31, 2023, SBG has accrued $3.4 million. On October 21, 2022, the Company filed a written response seeking reduction of the proposed fine amount, and the matter remains pending.

On July 19, 2023, as part of the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings of DSG, an independently managed and unconsolidated subsidiary of Sinclair, DSG and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Diamond Sports Net, LLC, filed a complaint (the "DSG Litigation"), under seal, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas naming certain subsidiaries of Sinclair, including SBG and STG, David D. Smith, Sinclair's Executive Chairman, Christopher S. Ripley, Sinclair's President and Chief Executive Officer, Lucy A. Rutishauser, Sinclair's Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, and Scott Shapiro, Sinclair's Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy, as defendants.

On January 17, 2024, Sinclair announced that it had agreed, subject to definitive documentation and final court approval, to a global settlement and release of all claims associated with the Diamond Litigation, which settlement includes an amendment to the MSA. The settlement terms include, among other things, DSG’s dismissal with prejudice of its $1.5 billion litigation against Sinclair and all other defendants, along with the full and final satisfaction and release of all claims in that litigation against all defendants, including Sinclair and its subsidiaries, in exchange for Sinclair’s cash payment to DSG of $495 million. The cash payment will be funded by cash on hand at Ventures and STG, and/or a loan backed by Ventures. Under the terms of the settlement, Sinclair will provide transition services to DSG to allow DSG to become a self-standing entity going forward. As of December 31, 2023, we have accrued $495 million, exclusive of any potential offsetting benefits to be received, related to the above matter, which is recorded within accounts payable and accrued liabilities in SBG's consolidated balance sheets and corporate general and administrative expenses in in SBG's consolidated statements of operations.

The settlement is subject to definitive documentation. On February 26, 2024, the court approved the settlement, subject to Sinclair and DSG completing definitive documentation.

Changes in the Rules of Television Ownership, Local Marketing Agreements, Joint Sales Agreements, Retransmission Consent Negotiations, and National Ownership Cap

Certain of SBG's stations have entered into what have commonly been referred to as local marketing agreements or LMAs. One typical type of LMA is a programming agreement between two separately owned television stations serving the same market, whereby the licensee of one station programs substantial portions of the broadcast day and sells advertising time during such programming segments on the other licensee’s station subject to the latter licensee’s ultimate editorial and other controls. SBG believes these arrangements allow it to reduce SBG's operating expenses and enhance profitability.

In 1999, the FCC established a local television ownership rule that made certain LMAs attributable. The FCC adopted policies to exempt from attribution "legacy" LMAs that were entered into prior to November 5, 1996 and permitted the applicable stations to continue operations pursuant to the LMAs until the conclusion of the FCC’s 2004 biennial review. The FCC stated it would conduct a case-by-case review of legacy LMAs and assess the appropriateness of extending the exemption periods. The FCC did not initiate any review of legacy LMAs in 2004 or as part of its subsequent quadrennial reviews. SBG does not know when, or if, the FCC will conduct any such review of legacy LMAs. Currently, all of SBG's LMAs are exempt from attribution under the local television ownership rule because they were entered into prior to November 5, 1996. If the FCC were to eliminate the exemption for these LMAs, SBG would have to terminate or modify these LMAs.

In September 2015, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in response to a Congressional directive in STELAR to examine the "totality of the circumstances test" for good-faith negotiations of retransmission consent. The proposed rulemaking seeks comment on new factors and evidence to consider in its evaluation of claims of bad faith negotiation, including service interruptions prior to a "marquee sports or entertainment event," restrictions on online access to broadcast programming during negotiation impasses, broadcasters' ability to offer bundles of broadcast signals with other broadcast stations or cable networks, and broadcasters' ability to invoke the FCC's exclusivity rules during service interruptions. On July 14, 2016, the FCC’s Chairman at the time announced that the FCC would not, at that time, proceed to adopt additional rules governing good faith negotiations of retransmission consent but did not formally terminate the rulemaking. No formal action has yet been taken on this Proposed Rulemaking, and SBG cannot predict if the FCC will terminate the rulemaking or take other action.

On November 20, 2017, the FCC released an Ownership Order on Reconsideration that eliminated or revised several media ownership rules. Among other things, the Order on Reconsideration (1) retained the “Top-Four Prohibition” (which generally restricts common ownership of two top-four rated stations in a market) but introduced a process by which entities could seek a waiver of the Top-Four Prohibition on a case-by-case basis; (2) eliminated the “Eight-Voices Test” that previously allowed common ownership of two stations in a single market only if eight or more independently-owned television stations would remain in the market (allowing common ownership of up to two stations in a market as long as such ownership does not violate the Top-Four Prohibition), and (3) eliminated the JSA attribution rule. The Ownership Order on Reconsideration was vacated and remanded by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in September 2019, but the Supreme Court ultimately reversed the Third Circuit’s decision on April 1, 2021 and the Ownership Order on Reconsideration became effective on June 30, 2021.

On December 18, 2017, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to examine the FCC’s national ownership cap, including the UHF discount. The UHF discount allows television station owners to discount the coverage of UHF stations when calculating compliance with the FCC's national ownership cap, which prohibits a single entity from owning television stations that reach, in total, more than 39% of all the television households in the nation. All but 34 of the stations SBG currently owns and operates, or to which SBG provides programming services are UHF. SBG cannot predict the outcome of the rulemaking proceeding. With the application of the UHF discount counting all of SBG's present stations SBG reaches approximately 24% of U.S. households. Changes to the national ownership cap could limit SBG's ability to make television station acquisitions.

On December 13, 2018, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to initiate the 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review of the FCC’s broadcast ownership rules. With respect to the local television ownership rule specifically, among other things, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking sought comment on possible modifications to the rule’s operation, including the relevant product market, the numerical limit, the Top-Four Prohibition; and the implications of multicasting, satellite stations, low power television ("LPTV") stations and the Next Generation broadcasting standard. On December 22, 2023, the FCC completed its 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review (the "2018 Ownership Order"). The 2018 Ownership Order declined to loosen or eliminate any of the existing television ownership rules and expanded the Top-Four Prohibition to multicast streams and LPTV stations, each of which were not previously considered as part of the local television ownership rules. The expanded rule prohibits a broadcaster with a top-four-rated television station from acquiring the network affiliation of another top-four rated station in the market and airing that second top-four network on a multicast stream or commonly owned LPTV station under certain circumstances. Affiliation arrangements existing as of the release of the 2018 Ownership Order that would otherwise violate the expanded Top-Four Prohibition will not be subject to divestiture, but such arrangements will not be transferrable or assignable. The 2018 Ownership Order also revised the methodology for determining whether a station is rated among the top-four stations in the market, retained the SSA disclosure requirement, and declined to attribute SSAs or JSAs. The 2018 Ownership Order’s expansion of the Top-Four Prohibition to multicast streams and LPTV stations may affect the Company’s ability to acquire programming or to sell or acquire stations due to the need to divest grandfathered affiliations.

On December 22, 2022, the FCC released a Public Notice to initiate the 2022 Quadrennial Regulatory Review, seeking comment on the Local Radio Ownership Rule, the Local Television Ownership Rule, and the Dual Network Rule and the proceeding remains pending. We cannot predict the outcome of that rulemaking proceeding. Changes to these rules could impact our ability to make radio or television station acquisitions.