COMPANY TOWN : Sinclair Broadcast Group to Switch Focus to TV Investments

BALTIMORE — Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. said it will aggressively invest in its TV station group as its pares down its radio business and focuses on television as a means to achieve long-term growth.

Sinclair, which is in the process of selling most of its radio stations, said it will invest in “strong programming, aggressive promotion and better-trained and more-disciplined sales departments.” After pending transactions, the broadcaster will own 59 TV stations and six radio stations.

Baltimore-based Sinclair didn’t say how much it intends to spend on TV. It did say the increased spending, coupled with a soft TV ad market, is likely to result in a 1% decline in broadcast cash flow in the third quarter.

Sinclair defines broadcast cash flow as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, corporate, general and administrative expenses and other charges.

Broadcast cash flow is used by analysts to gauge the performance of broadcasting companies with large debt loads because it focuses on the profitability of station operations. Sinclair shares fell 31 cents to close at $14.69 before trading was halted on Nasdaq.