Sinclair adds new affiliates for Comet, Charge, Roar and the Nest

Cable TV provider Mediacom will offer all four networks on a national basis, and The Nest is coming to YouTube TV later this year.

Sinclair, Inc. is advancing its effort to bring its over-the-air multicast networks to better channel positions in more markets across the United States by inking new affiliation agreements with broadcasters in several markets over the coming weeks, the company announced on Wednesday.

The effort involves Sinclair’s four multicast networks — Comet, Charge, Roar (formerly TBD) and the Nest — which are moving to new homes in some parts of the country between the beginning of this month and October 1.

As part of the effort, Sinclair has inked a national distribution agreement with Mediacom, the fifth-largest cable television operator in the country, to bring national feeds of all four multicast networks to their pay TV systems in the Midwest and Southeast, Sinclair said.

In other markets, Sinclair’s multicast networks will be gaining distribution through over-the-air broadcast affiliates or switching stations. The new affiliates for each network are:

Charge

• Austin – KEYE-3

• Beaumont – KBTV-2

• Boston-Manchester – WFXT-2

• Cincinnati – WSTR-3

• Dayton – WRGT-2

• Greenville-Spartanburg – WMYA-2

• Lincoln & Hastings-Kearney – KHGI-4

• Macon, GA – WGXA-4

• Myrtle Beach – WWMB-2

Comet

• Austin – KEYE-4

• Cedar Rapids – KFXA-3

• Reno – KRNV-2

• St. Louis – KDNL-5

Roar

• Beaumont – KBTV-1

• Cedar Rapids – KFXA-1

• Dayton – WRGT-1

• Fresno – KMPH-2

• Greenville-Spartanburg – WMYA-1

• Myrtle Beach – WWMB-1

• Nashville – WNAB-1

• San Antonio – KMYS-1

• Sioux City – KMEG-1

• Tri-Cities, TN – WEMT-2

• Wichita-Hutchinson – KMTW-1

The Nest

• Columbia, South Carolina – WACH-5

• Columbia-Jefferson City, Missouri – KRCG-5

• Eugene – KVAL-4

• Johnstown-Altoona-State College, PA – WJAC-5

• Madison – WMSN-5

• Missoula, MT – KECI-5

• Richmond – WRLH-5

• Rochester – WHAM-4

• San Antonio – KMYS-2

• Savannah – WTGS-6

• Tri-Cities, TN – WEMT-4

• Traverse City – WPBN-4

• Tulsa – KTUL-6

In most of the affected markets, a Sinclair-owned or operated station will take on the carriage of one or more multicast network, according to an examination of the list by Multicast News. In addition to the over-the-air and cable distribution, Sinclair reaffirmed that The Nest will gain national streaming distribution through YouTube TV later this year, a move first reported by Multicast News in May. Comet, Charge and Roar are already carried on the streaming cable-like TV service.

“Our multicast networks continue to build momentum through a strategic combination of affiliate expansion, upgraded channel placements, and national distribution on platforms like YouTube TV and Mediacom,” Lee Schlazer, the Senior Vice President of Distribution at Sinclair, said in a statement. “By deepening our presence in key DMAs and bringing these networks to even more linear and digital audiences, we’re delivering on our mission to expand our free, high-quality television footprint nationwide.”

Last year, Sinclair’s Senior Vice President of Growth Networks Adam Ware told sister publication The Desk that the company was in the process of realigning its multicast affiliates so they are in closer proximity to major broadcast networks on the TV dial. The effort was part of a broader strategy to help the multicast networks strengthen their prominence in key markets and gain visibility as broadcast TV viewers sampled across channels during high-profile events like the Super Bowl.

So far, that strategy has worked, with many of Sinclair’s multicast affiliates seeing viewership growth during this year’s Super Bowl on Fox, two NFL championship playoff games aired on Fox and CBS, and the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live” aired on NBC. (Roar, as TBD, offered a 50-hour marathon of the show leading up to its 50th anniversary TV special.)

This year, Sinclair has also increased the amount of premium shows and movies offered through the four networks, with Charge getting new police procedurals like “Criminal Minds” and “Homicide: Life on the Street” and Roar adding Jane Lynch-hosted game shows.

On Wednesday, Comet will kick off a multi-day salute to the Jurassic Park franchise as part of its annual CometFest initiative, during which the network will air several Jurassic Park films. An in-person screening of the first film will take place Thursday evening in Los Angeles, and include a question-and-answer sessions with dinosaur experts Hellcreek Hooligans.