Sinclair Broadcast (SBGI) 10-Q 5 Aug 16 2016 Q2 Quarterly report Financial data

Document and Entity Information

Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jul. 31, 2016
Entity Listings
Entity Registrant Name	SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP INC
Entity Central Index Key	912,752
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2,016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Amendment Flag	false
Class A Common Stock
Entity Listings
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (shares)		68,497,702
Class B Common Stock
Entity Listings
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (shares)		25,928,357

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Jun. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents		$ 103,727	$ 149,972
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $4,357 and $4,495, respectively		489,884	424,608
Current portion of program contract costs		36,359	91,466
Income taxes receivable		0	823
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		38,949	26,903
Deferred barter costs		9,100	7,991
Total current assets		678,019	701,763
PROGRAM CONTRACT COSTS, less current portion		10,484	18,996
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net		727,806	717,137
RESTRICTED CASH		0	3,725
GOODWILL		2,017,382	1,931,093
INDEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS		157,725	132,465
DEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS, net		1,975,786	1,751,570
OTHER ASSETS		212,475	175,566
Total assets	[1]	5,779,677	5,432,315
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		271,926	251,313
Income taxes payable		8,566	0
Current portion of notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing		175,044	164,184
Current portion of notes and capital leases payable to affiliates		3,501	3,166
Current portion of program contracts payable		63,492	108,260
Deferred barter revenues		9,211	8,080
Total current liabilities		531,740	535,003
LONG-TERM LIABILITIES:
Notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing, less current portion		3,984,262	3,669,160
Notes payable and capital leases to affiliates, less current portion		15,953	17,850
Program contracts payable, less current portion		45,110	56,921
Deferred tax liabilities		587,289	585,072
Other long-term liabilities		72,429	68,631
Total liabilities	[1]	5,236,783	4,932,637
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY:
Additional paid-in capital		964,818	962,726
Accumulated deficit		(394,418)	(437,029)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(834)	(834)
Total Sinclair Broadcast Group shareholders’ equity		570,512	525,810
Noncontrolling interests		(27,618)	(26,132)
Total equity		542,894	499,678
Total liabilities and equity		5,779,677	5,432,315
Class A Common Stock
SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY:
Common Stock		687	688
Class B Common Stock
SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY:
Common Stock		$ 259	$ 259
[1]	Our consolidated total assets as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 include total assets of variable interest entities (VIEs) of $147.5 million and $152.4 million, respectively, which can only be used to settle the obligations of the VIEs. Our consolidated total liabilities as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 include total liabilities of the VIEs of $30.4 million and $35.6 million, respectively, for which the creditors of the VIEs have no recourse to us. See Note 1. Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Pa

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Jun. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Accounts receivable, allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 4,357	$ 4,495
Total assets	147,454	152,373
Total liabilities of variable interest entities	$ 30,400	$ 35,600
Class A Common Stock
Common Stock, par value (USD per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common Stock, shares authorized (shares)	500,000,000	500,000,000
Common Stock, shares issued (shares)	68,734,950	68,792,483
Common Stock, shares outstanding (shares)	68,734,950	68,792,483
Class B Common Stock
Common Stock, par value (USD per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common Stock, shares authorized (shares)	140,000,000	140,000,000
Common Stock, shares issued (shares)	25,928,357	25,928,357
Common Stock, shares outstanding (shares)	25,928,357	25,928,357

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPER

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
REVENUES:
Media revenues	$ 606,268	$ 503,170	$ 1,137,591	$ 967,921
Revenues realized from station barter arrangements	34,003	30,373	60,513	51,332
Other non-media revenues	26,263	20,624	47,319	39,689
Total revenues	666,534	554,167	1,245,423	1,058,942
OPERATING EXPENSES:
Media production expenses	243,620	181,810	459,497	353,381
Media selling, general and administrative expenses	128,488	103,225	243,497	205,466
Expenses recognized from station barter arrangements	29,259	26,381	52,184	43,793
Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments	30,821	29,782	64,281	60,173
Other non-media expenses	19,761	15,520	37,458	30,433
Depreciation of property and equipment	24,409	25,273	48,444	50,462
Corporate general and administrative expenses	14,279	14,183	35,620	30,221
Amortization of definite-lived intangible and other assets	45,625	39,445	89,390	79,425
Research and development expenses	1,209	4,237	2,310	6,752
Gain on asset disposition	(11)	(29)	(2,671)	(51)
Total operating expenses	537,460	439,827	1,030,010	860,055
Operating income	129,074	114,340	215,413	198,887
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE):
Interest expense and amortization of debt discount and deferred financing costs	(53,916)	(47,664)	(103,331)	(94,312)
Income from equity and cost method investments	943	2,007	1,366	5,153
Other income, net	1,104	1,050	1,566	1,268
Total other expense, net	(51,869)	(44,607)	(100,399)	(87,891)
Income before income taxes	77,205	69,733	115,014	110,996
INCOME TAX PROVISION	(26,605)	(23,334)	(38,785)	(39,761)
NET INCOME	50,600	46,399	76,229	71,235
Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests	(1,181)	(612)	(2,670)	(1,166)
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP	$ 49,419	$ 45,787	$ 73,559	$ 70,069
Dividends declared per share (USD per share)	$ 0.180	$ 0.165	$ 0.345	$ 0.33
BASIC AND DILUTED EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP:
Basic earnings per share (USD per share)	0.52	0.48	0.77	0.74
Diluted earnings per share (USD per share)	$ 0.52	$ 0.48	$ 0.77	$ 0.73
Weighted average common shares outstanding (shares)	95,026	95,307	94,922	95,219
Weighted average common and common equivalent shares outstanding (shares)	95,934	96,050	95,819	95,911

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMP

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net income	$ 50,600	$ 46,399	$ 76,229	$ 71,235
Amortization of net periodic pension benefit costs, net of taxes	0	84	0	168
Comprehensive income	50,600	46,483	76,229	71,403
Comprehensive income attributable to the noncontrolling interests	(1,181)	(612)	(2,670)	(1,166)
Comprehensive income attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group	$ 49,419	$ 45,871	$ 73,559	$ 70,237

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EQUIT

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EQUITY (DEFICIT) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Total	Additional Paid-In Capital	Accumulated Deficit	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss	Noncontrolling Interests	Class A Common Stock	Class A Common StockCommon Stock	Class B Common Stock	Class B Common StockCommon Stock
BALANCE (shares) at Dec. 31, 2014							69,578,899		25,928,357
BALANCE at Dec. 31, 2014	$ 405,343	$ 979,202	$ (545,820)	$ (6,455)	$ (22,539)		$ 696		$ 259
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity
Dividends declared and paid on Class A and Class B Common Stock	(31,464)		(31,464)
Repurchases of Class A Common Stock (shares)							(304,787)
Repurchases of Class A Common Stock	(7,803)	(7,800)					$ (3)
Class A Common Stock issued pursuant to employee benefit plans (shares)							261,050
Class A Common Stock issued pursuant to employee benefit plans	9,512	9,510					$ 2
Tax benefit on share based awards	695	695
Distributions to noncontrolling interests, net	(2,464)				(2,464)
Issuance of subsidiary stock awards	1,037				1,037
Other comprehensive income	168			168
Net income	71,235		70,069		1,166
BALANCE (shares) at Jun. 30, 2015							69,535,162		25,928,357
BALANCE at Jun. 30, 2015	446,259	981,607	(507,215)	(6,287)	(22,800)		$ 695		$ 259
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity
Cumulative effect of adoption of new accounting standard	2,264	431	1,833
BALANCE (shares) at Dec. 31, 2015						68,792,483	68,792,483	25,928,357	25,928,357
BALANCE at Dec. 31, 2015	499,678	962,726	(437,029)	(834)	(26,132)		$ 688		$ 259
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity
Dividends declared and paid on Class A and Class B Common Stock	$ (32,781)		(32,781)
Repurchases of Class A Common Stock (shares)	(400,000)						(384,700)
Repurchases of Class A Common Stock	$ (11,247)	(11,243)					$ (4)
Class A Common Stock issued pursuant to employee benefit plans (shares)							327,167
Class A Common Stock issued pursuant to employee benefit plans	12,907	12,904	0				$ 3
Distributions to noncontrolling interests, net	(4,370)				(4,370)
Issuance of subsidiary stock awards	214				214
Net income	76,229		73,559		2,670
BALANCE (shares) at Jun. 30, 2016						68,734,950	68,734,950	25,928,357	25,928,357
BALANCE at Jun. 30, 2016	$ 542,894	$ 964,818	$ (394,418)	$ (834)	$ (27,618)		$ 687		$ 259

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net income	$ 76,229	$ 71,235
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows from operating activities:
Depreciation of property and equipment	48,444	50,462
Amortization of definite-lived intangible and other assets	89,390	79,425
Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments	64,281	60,173
Stock-based compensation expense	9,969	11,577
Deferred tax benefit	(2,797)	(17,368)
Change in assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions:
(Increase) decrease in accounts receivable	(46,242)	3,433
Increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets	(5,617)	(18,755)
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable and accrued liabilities	18,903	(24,906)
Net change in net income taxes payable/receivable	9,389	21,019
Payments on program contracts payable	(57,242)	(55,676)
Other, net	4,951	(372)
Net cash flows from operating activities	209,658	180,247
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Acquisition of property and equipment	(49,786)	(47,062)
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired	(423,104)	0
Purchase of alarm monitoring contracts	(21,616)	(16,673)
Investments in equity and cost method investees	(21,843)	(37,809)
Loans to affiliates	(19,500)	0
Other, net	7,399	11,651
Net cash flows used in investing activities	(528,450)	(89,893)
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from notes payable and commercial bank financing	607,555	364,853
Repayments of notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases	(279,575)	(360,480)
Dividends paid on Class A and Class B Common Stock	(32,781)	(31,464)
Repurchase of outstanding Class A Common Stock	(11,247)	(7,803)
Other, net	(11,405)	(8,563)
Net cash flows from (used in) financing activities	272,547	(43,457)
NET (DECREASE) INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS	(46,245)	46,897
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period	149,972	17,682
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period	$ 103,727	$ 64,579

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMAR

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES: Nature of Operations Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is a diversified television broadcasting company with national reach with a strong focus on providing high-quality content on our local television stations and digital platforms. The content, distributed through our broadcast platform, consists of programming provided by third-party networks and syndicators, local news, and other original programming produced by us. We also distribute our original programming, and owned and operated network affiliates, on other third-party platforms. Additionally, we own digital media products that are complementary to our extensive portfolio of television station related digital properties. Outside of our media related businesses, we operate technical services companies focused on supply and maintenance of broadcast transmission systems as well as research and development for the advancement of broadcast technology, and we manage other non-media related investments. As of June 30, 2016 , our broadcast distribution platform is a single reportable segment for accounting purposes. It consists primarily of our broadcast television stations, which we own, provide programming and operating services pursuant to agreements commonly referred to as local marketing agreements (LMAs), or provide sales services and other non-programming operating services pursuant to other outsourcing agreements (such as joint sales agreements (JSAs) and shared services agreements (SSAs)) to 173 stations in 81 markets. These stations broadcast 484 channels, as of June 30, 2016 . For the purpose of this report, these 173 stations and 484 channels are referred to as “our” stations and channels. Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include our accounts and those of our wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries and variable interest entities (VIEs) for which we are the primary beneficiary. Noncontrolling interest represents a minority owner’s proportionate share of the equity in certain of our consolidated entities. All intercompany transactions and account balances have been eliminated in consolidation. Interim Financial Statements The consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 are unaudited. In the opinion of management, such financial statements have been presented on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements and include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statements of operations, consolidated statements of comprehensive income, consolidated statement of equity (deficit) and consolidated statements of cash flows for these periods as adjusted for the adoption of recent accounting pronouncements discussed below. As permitted under the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the consolidated financial statements do not include all disclosures normally included with audited consolidated financial statements and, accordingly, should be read together with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 filed with the SEC. The consolidated statements of operations presented in the accompanying consolidated financial statements are not necessarily representative of operations for an entire year. Variable Interest Entities In determining whether we are the primary beneficiary of a VIE for financial reporting purposes, we consider whether we have the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the economic performance of the VIE and whether we have the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive returns that would be significant to the VIE. We consolidate VIEs when we are the primary beneficiary. Third-party station licensees. Certain of our stations provide services to other station owners within the same respective market through agreements, such as LMAs, where we provide programming, sales, operational and administrative services, and JSAs and SSAs, where we provide non-programming, sales, operational and administrative services. In certain cases, we have also entered into purchase agreements or options to purchase the license related assets of the licensee. We typically own the majority of the non-license assets of the stations, and in some cases where the licensee acquired the license assets concurrent with our acquisition of the non-license assets of the station, we have provided guarantees to the bank for the licensee’s acquisition financing. The terms of the agreements vary, but generally have initial terms of over five years with several optional renewal terms. As of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 , respectively, we have concluded that 37 of these licensees are VIEs. Based on the terms of the agreements and the significance of our investment in the stations, we are the primary beneficiary of the variable interests because, subject to the ultimate control of the licensees, we have the power to direct the activities which significantly impact the economic performance of the VIE through the services we provide and because we absorb losses and returns that would be considered significant to the VIEs. Several of these VIEs are owned by a related party, Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation (Cunningham). See Note 6. Related Person Transactions for more information about the arrangements with Cunningham. The net revenues of the stations which we consolidate were $76.8 million and $148.3 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 , and $71.8 million and $136.6 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 , respectively. The fees paid between us and the licensees pursuant to these arrangements are eliminated in consolidation. See Changes in the Rules of Television Ownership, Joint Sales Agreements, and Retransmission Consent Negotiations within Note 4. Commitments and Contingencies for discussion of recent changes in FCC rules related to JSAs. As of the dates indicated, the carrying amounts and classification of the assets and liabilities of the VIEs mentioned above which have been included in our consolidated balance sheets for the periods presented (in thousands): June 30, December 31, ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS: Cash and cash equivalents $ 490 $ 490 Accounts receivable 22,692 21,719 Current portion of program contract costs 6,609 13,287 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 396 331 Total current assets 30,187 35,827 PROGRAM CONTRACT COSTS, less current portion 2,644 4,541 PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net 8,828 7,609 GOODWILL 791 787 INDEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS 15,684 17,599 DEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS, net 82,396 79,086 OTHER ASSETS 6,924 6,924 Total assets $ 147,454 $ 152,373 LIABILITIES CURRENT LIABILITIES: Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 1,187 $ 1,240 Current portion of notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing 3,702 3,687 Current portion of program contracts payable 8,256 12,627 Total current liabilities 13,145 17,554 LONG-TERM LIABILITIES: Notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing, less current portion 22,837 24,594 Program contracts payable, less current portion 11,403 13,679 Other long-term liabilities 9,522 8,067 Total liabilities $ 56,907 $ 63,894 The amounts above represent the consolidated assets and liabilities of the VIEs described above, for which we are the primary beneficiary, and have been aggregated as they all relate to our broadcast business. Excluded from the amounts above are payments made to Cunningham under the LMAs which are treated as a prepayment of the purchase price of the stations and capital leases between us and Cunningham which are eliminated in consolidation. The total payments made under these LMAs as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 , which are excluded from liabilities above, were $39.2 million and $37.6 million , respectively. The total capital lease liabilities, net of capital lease assets, excluded from the above were $4.4 million and $4.5 million for June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 . Also excluded from the amounts above are liabilities associated with certain outsourcing agreements and purchase options with certain VIEs totaling $78.0 million and $72.5 million as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 , respectively, as these amounts are eliminated in consolidation. The assets of each of these consolidated VIEs can only be used to settle the obligations of the VIE. All the liabilities are non-recourse to us except for certain debt of VIEs which we guarantee. The risk and reward characteristics of the VIEs are similar. Other investments. We have investments in real estate ventures and investment companies which are considered VIEs. However, we do not participate in the management of these entities including the day-to-day operating decisions or other decisions which would allow us to control the entity, and therefore, we are not considered the primary beneficiary of these VIEs. We account for these entities using the equity or cost method of accounting. The carrying amounts of our investments in these VIEs for which we are not the primary beneficiary as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 are $113.5 million and $18.1 million , respectively, and are included in other assets in the consolidated balance sheets. The increase in 2016 was due to the adoption of the revised accounting guidance during the first quarter of 2016 related to consolidation as discussed under Recent Accounting Pronouncements below, which resulted in additional investments being considered VIEs. Our maximum exposure is equal to the carrying value of our investments. The income and loss related to these investments are recorded in income from equity and cost method investments in the consolidated statement of operations. We recorded income of $0.9 million and $1.2 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 , and income of $2.6 million and $5.5 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 respectively. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses in the consolidated financial statements and in the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Recent Accounting Pronouncements In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued guidance on revenue recognition for revenue from contracts with customers. This guidance requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers and will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance when it becomes effective. The new standard is effective for the annual reporting period beginning after December 15, 2017, however, early adoption is permitted. The standard permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. We are currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements. In August 2014, the FASB issued guidance on disclosure of uncertainties about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The new standard is effective for the annual period ending after December 15, 2016, and for annual periods and interim periods thereafter. We are currently evaluating the impact of this new guidance on our consolidated financial statements. In February 2015, the FASB issued new guidance that amends the current consolidation guidance on the determination of whether an entity is a variable interest entity. The new standard is effective for the interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. We adopted this revised guidance on a modified retrospective basis during the three months ended March 31, 2016. As disclosed under Other investments under Variable Interest Entities above, the adoption of the revised guidance resulted in additional investments in real estate ventures and investment companies being considered VIEs, however, we concluded that we were not the primary beneficiary of these investments. The revised guidance did not have any other impact on our consolidation conclusions. In February 2016, the FASB issued new guidance related to accounting for leases, which requires the assets and liabilities that arise from leases to be recognized on the balance sheet. Currently only capital leases are recorded on the balance sheet. This update will require the lessee to recognize a lease liability equal to the present value of the lease payments and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term for all leases longer than 12 months. For leases with a term of 12 months or less, a lessee is permitted to make an accounting policy election by class of underlying asset not to recognize lease assets and liabilities and recognize the lease expense for such leases generally on a straight-line basis over the lease term. This update will be effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements. In March 2016, the FASB issued new guidance that simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions, including the accounting for income tax effects, forfeitures, the impact of employee income tax withholdings and classification of certain related items in the statement of cash flows. We early adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2016, which did not have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements. The adoption of the various changes in the guidance were applied as required by the guidance either on the prospective, modified retrospective, or full retrospective basis. As shown in the consolidated statement of stockholders' equity, upon adoption, we recorded a $0.4 million increase to additional paid in capital and a $1.8 million decrease in accumulated deficit, net of taxes, to record the cumulative effect of changing the classification of certain liability awards to equity classification. Additionally, for the six months ended June 30, 2015, we reclassified $2.2 million from net cash flows from operating activities to net cash flows from financing activities in our consolidated statement of cash flows related to cash payments made to taxing authorities on certain employees' behalf for shares withheld. Revenue Recognition Total revenues include: (i) cash and barter advertising revenues, net of agency commissions; (ii) retransmission consent fees; (iii) network compensation; (iv) other media revenues and (v) revenues from our other businesses. Advertising revenues, net of agency commissions, are recognized in the period during which advertisements are placed. Some of our retransmission consent agreements contain both advertising and retransmission consent elements. We have determined that these retransmission consent agreements are revenue arrangements with multiple deliverables. Advertising and retransmission consent deliverables sold under our agreements are separated into different units of accounting at fair value. Revenue applicable to the advertising element of the arrangement is recognized similar to the advertising revenue policy noted above. Revenue applicable to the retransmission consent element of the arrangement is recognized over the life of the agreement. Network compensation revenue is recognized over the term of the contract. All other significant revenues are recognized as services are provided. Income Taxes Our income tax provision for all periods consists of federal and state income taxes. The tax provision for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 is based on the estimated effective tax rate applicable for the full year after taking into account discrete tax items and the effects of the noncontrolling interests. We provide a valuation allowance for deferred tax assets if we determine that it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. In evaluating our ability to realize net deferred tax assets, we consider all available evidence, both positive and negative, including our past operating results, tax planning strategies and forecasts of future taxable income. In considering these sources of taxable income, we must make certain judgments that are based on the plans and estimates used to manage our underlying businesses on a long-term basis. A valuation allowance has been provided for deferred tax assets related to a substantial portion of our available state net operating loss (NOL) carryforwards, based on past operating results, expected timing of the reversals of existing temporary book/tax basis differences, alternative tax strategies and projected future taxable income. Our effective income tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 approximated the statutory rate. Our effective income tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2015 was less than the statutory rate primarily due to a decrease in our income tax provision resulting from certain state law changes. Our effective income tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2015 exceeded the statutory rate primarily due to an increase in income tax provision resulting from a settlement of a state income tax position. We believe it is reasonably possible that our liability for unrecognized tax benefits related to continuing operations could be reduced by up to $1.3 million , in the next twelve months, as a result of expected statute of limitations expirations, the application of limits under available state administrative practice exceptions, and the resolution of examination issues and settlements with federal and certain state tax authorities. Share Repurchase Program On October 28, 1999, we announced a $150.0 million share repurchase program, which was renewed on February 6, 2008. On March 20, 2014, the Board of Directors authorized a new $150.0 million share repurchase authorization. There is no expiration date and currently, management has no plans to terminate this program. For the six months ended June 30, 2016, we purchased approximately 0.4 million shares for $11.2 million . As of June 30, 2016 , the total remaining authorization was $94.3 million . In July 2016, we repurchased an additional 0.2 million shares for $8.0 million . Reclassifications Certain reclassifications have been made to prior years' consolidated financial statements to conform to the current year's presentation.

ACQUISITIONS

ACQUISITIONS	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Business Combinations [Abstract]
ACQUISITIONS	ACQUISITIONS: Tennis Channel. In March 2016, we acquired all of the outstanding common stock of Tennis Channel (Tennis), a cable network which includes coverage of the top 100 tennis tournaments and original professional sport and tennis lifestyle shows, for $350.0 million plus a working capital adjustment of $6.5 million . This was funded through cash on hand and a draw on the Bank Credit Agreement. The acquisition provides an expansion of our network business and increases value based on the synergies we can achieve. Tennis is reported within Other within Note 7. Segment Data . The following table summarizes the allocated fair value of acquired assets and assumed liabilities (in thousands): Cash $ 5,111 Accounts receivable 17,629 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 6,518 Property and equipment 5,964 Definite-lived intangible assets 227,096 Indefinite-lived intangible assets 24,900 Other assets 619 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (7,414 ) Capital leases (115 ) Deferred tax liability (3,964 ) Other long term liabilities (1,669 ) Fair value of identifiable net assets acquired 274,675 Goodwill 81,814 Total $ 356,489 The allocation presented above is based upon management’s estimate of the fair values using valuation techniques including income, cost and market approaches. In estimating the fair value of the acquired assets and assumed liabilities, the fair value estimates are based on, but not limited to, expected future revenue and cash flows, expected future growth rates, and estimated discount rates. The purchase price has been allocated to the acquired assets and assumed liabilities based on estimated fair values. The allocation is preliminary pending a final determination of the fair values of the assets and liabilities. During the three months ended June 30, 2016 , we made certain measurement period adjustments to the initial purchase accounting: an increase to definite-lived intangible assets of $115.6 million , a decrease to indefinite-lived intangible assets of $11.6 million , a decrease to deferred taxes assets of $37.6 million resulting in a net deferred tax liability, a decrease to goodwill of $66.3 million , and an increase to amortization of less than $0.1 million during the six months ended June 30, 2016. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are comprised of trade names. Customer relationships, which represent existing advertiser relationships and contractual relationships with MVPDs, will be amortized over the estimated remaining useful lives of 10 to 15 years. Acquired property and equipment will be depreciated on a straight-line basis over the respective estimated remaining useful lives. Goodwill is calculated as the excess of the consideration transferred over the fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired and represents the future economic benefits expected to arise from other intangible assets acquired that do not qualify for separate recognition, including assembled workforce and noncontractual relationships, as well as expected future synergies. Goodwill will no t be deductible for tax purposes. Other intangible assets will be amortized over the respective weighted average useful lives ranging from 1 to 3 years. The following table summarizes the amounts allocated to definite-lived intangible assets representing the estimated fair values (in thousands): Customer relationships $ 223,400 Other intangible assets 3,696 Fair value of identifiable definite-lived intangible assets acquired $ 227,096 In connection with the acquisitions, for the six months ended June 30, 2016 , we incurred a total of $0.3 million of costs primarily related to legal and other professional services which we expensed as incurred and classified as corporate general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. Net revenues and an operating loss of Tennis included in our consolidated statements of operations, were $27.5 million and $9.7 million , for the three months ended June 30, 2016 , and $35.1 million and $11.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 . Pro Forma Information The following table sets forth unaudited results of operation for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and the unaudited pro forma results of operations for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and for the for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, assuming that Tennis, along with transactions necessary to finance the acquisition, occurred at the beginning of the year preceding the year of acquisition. The pro forma results exclude the acquisition of television station acquisitions discussed below, as they were deemed not material both individually and in the aggregate (in thousands, except per share data): Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, 2016 2015 2016 2015 Total revenues $ 666,534 $ 583,081 $ 1,259,915 $ 1,107,363 Net Income $ 50,600 $ 43,297 $ 75,474 $ 67,304 Net Income attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 49,419 $ 42,685 $ 72,804 $ 66,138 Basic earnings per share attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 0.52 $ 0.45 $ 0.77 $ 0.69 Diluted earnings per share attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 0.52 $ 0.44 $ 0.76 $ 0.69 This pro forma financial information is based on historical results of operations, adjusted for the allocation of the purchase price and other acquisition accounting adjustments, and is not indicative of what our results would have been had we operated Tennis since the beginning of the annual period presented because the pro forma results do not reflect expected synergies. The pro forma adjustments reflect depreciation expense and amortization of intangible assets related to the fair value adjustments of the assets acquired, additional interest expense related to the financing of the transactions, and exclusion of nonrecurring financing and transaction related costs. Depreciation and amortization expense are higher than amounts recorded in the historical financial statements of the acquirees due to the fair value adjustments recorded for long-lived tangible and intangible assets in purchase accounting. Television Station Acquisitions. During the six months ended June 30, 2016, we acquired certain television station related assets for an aggregate purchase price of $72.0 million less working capital of $0.2 million . In conjunction with the acquisition of the television station in South Bend-Elkhart, IN, we simultaneously sold the broadcast assets of our station in Marquette, MI. For the six months ended June 30, 2016 , we recognized a $2.6 million gain on the sale of the television station in Marquette, MI.

NOTES PAYABLE AND COMMERCIAL BA

NOTES PAYABLE AND COMMERCIAL BANK FINANCINGS	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
NOTES PAYABLE AND COMMERCIAL BANK FINANCING	NOTES PAYABLE AND COMMERCIAL BANK FINANCING: 5.875% Senior Notes, due 2026 On March 23, 2016 we issued $350.0 million in senior unsecured notes, which bear interest at a rate of 5.875% per annum and mature on March 15, 2026 (the 5.875% Notes), pursuant to an indenture dated March 23, 2016 (the 5.875% Indenture). The 5.875% Notes were priced at 100% of their par value and interest is payable semi-annually on March 15 and September 15, commencing on September 15, 2016. Prior to March 15, 2021, we may redeem the 5.875% Notes, in whole or in part, at any time or from time to time at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the 5.875% Notes plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of redemption, plus a “make-whole” premium as set forth in the 5.875% Indenture. In addition, on or prior to March 15, 2019, we may redeem up to 35% of the 5.875% Notes, using proceeds of certain equity offerings. If we sell certain of our assets or experience specific kinds of changes of control, the holders of the 5.875% Notes may require us to repurchase some or all of the notes. There are no registration rights associated with the 5.875% Notes. The proceeds from the offering of the 5.875% Notes, were used to repay amounts under our revolving credit facility and for other general corporate purposes. We incurred $5.9 million of deferred financing costs in connection with the issuance of the 5.875% Notes. As discussed in Note 2. Acquisitions , we completed the acquisition of Tennis in March 2016. The acquisition was funded, in part, by a draw on our revolving line of credit which was repaid using the proceeds from the 5.875% Notes discussed above. Bank Credit Agreement On July 19, 2016, we entered into an amendment and extension of our bank credit agreement. Pursuant to the amendment, the maturity date applicable to $485.2 million in revolving commitments and $139.5 million of term loan A loans has been extended to July 31, 2021. The remaining $153.5 million of outstanding term loan A loans will mature April 9, 2018. In connection with the transaction, we also amended certain pricing terms related to the loans. Of the estimated financing costs to be paid related to the amendment, we expect to incur approximately $2.6 million of financing costs in connection with the amendment, of which $0.3 million will be expensed in the third quarter of 2016, and the remaining $2.3 million will be deferred and amortized as interest expense over the term of the facilities. As of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 , there was no outstanding balance under our revolving credit facility. As of June 30, 2016 , we had $483.3 million borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility.

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES: Litigation We are a party to lawsuits and claims 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. After reviewing developments to date with legal counsel, our management is of the opinion that none of our pending and threatened matters are material. Various parties have filed petitions to deny our applications or applications of licensees that we provide services to under LMAs for the following stations’ license renewals: WXLV-TV, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; WMYV-TV, Greensboro, North Carolina; WLFL-TV, Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina; WRDC-TV, Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina; WLOS-TV, Asheville, North Carolina; WCIV-TV, Charleston, South Carolina ; WMYA-TV, Anderson, South Carolina; WICS-TV, Springfield, Illinois; WBFF-TV, Baltimore, Maryland; WTTE-TV, Columbus, Ohio; WRGT-TV, Dayton, Ohio; WVAH-TV, Charleston / Huntington, West Virginia; WCGV-TV, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; KGAN-TV, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and WTTO-TV in Birmingham, AL. The FCC is in the process of considering the renewal applications and we believe the petitions have no merit. In connection with the consent decree described below, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions therein, the FCC has agreed to dismiss the outstanding petitions to deny and grant all pending renewals for the above-mentioned stations. Changes in the Rules of Television Ownership, Joint Sales Agreements, and Retransmission Consent Negotiations In March, 2014, the FCC issued a public notice indicating that it will closely scrutinize any broadcast assignment or transfer application proposing sharing arrangements (such as JSAs, LMAs and other shared services agreements) and contingent interests (such as options). We cannot now predict what actions the FCC may require in connection with the processing of applications for FCC consent to future transactions. In addition, in April, 2014, the FCC issued an order amending its multiple ownership rules to provide that, for JSAs where two television stations are located in the same market, and a party with an attributable interest in one station sells more than 15% of the ad time per week of the other station, the party selling such ad time shall be treated as if it had an attributable ownership interest in the second station. The order provided that JSAs that existed on the effective date of the new rule, March 31, 2014, had two years to be terminated, amended or otherwise come into compliance with the new rules. Subsequently, Congress adopted, and the President signed into law, legislation that grandfathered preexisting JSAs until October 1, 2025. The JSA order was the subject of an appeal which was heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In a decision issued on May 25, 2016, the Court found that in adopting the JSA attribution rule the FCC impermissibly expanded its attribution policies prior to completing its quadrennial review to determine if its ownership rules remain in the public interest. As a result, the Third Circuit found the FCC’s approach to be procedurally invalid, vacated the JSA attribution rule, and remanded it to the FCC. We cannot predict the outcome of that remand. The FCC may complete its quadrennial review and adopt a new rule making JSAs attributable, which could limit our future ability to create duopolies or other two-station operations in certain markets. The revenues of these JSA arrangements we earned were $14.3 million and $11.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 and $26.4 million and $22.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , respectively. In February 2015, the FCC issued an order implementing certain statutorily required changes to its rules governing the duty to negotiate retransmission consent agreements in good faith. With these changes, a television broadcast station is prohibited from negotiating retransmission consent jointly with another television station in the same market unless the “stations are directly or indirectly under common de jure control permitted under the regulations of the Commission.” During a recent retransmission consent negotiation, an MVPD filed a complaint with the FCC accusing us of violating this rule. Although we reached agreement with the MVPD and they withdrew their complaint, the FCC undertook its own internal investigation regarding the allegations made by the MVPD and whether we negotiated in good faith as defined by the rules. In order to resolve the issues raised by the investigation described above and all other pending matters before the FCC's Media Bureau (Bureau), the Company, on July 29, 2016, without any admission of liability, entered into a consent decree with the FCC pursuant to which the Bureau agreed (i) to terminate their investigation regarding the retransmission consent negotiations described above as well as any other investigations pending before the Bureau, (ii) to dismiss with prejudice or deny any outstanding adversarial pleadings against the Company pending before the Bureau, (iii) to cancel outstanding forfeiture orders issued by the Bureau relating to the Company, and (iv) to grant all of the Company’s pending license renewals, subject to a payment by the Company to the United States Treasury in the amount of $9.5 million . As of June 30, 2016, this liability is included within accounts payable and accrued expenses in the consolidated balance sheet, with a corresponding charge to media selling, general, and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations during the three months ended June 30, 2016. The Company agreed to be subject to ongoing compliance monitoring by the FCC with the terms of the consent decree for a period of 36 months . Further, 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 announced that the FCC would not, at this time, proceed to adopt additional rules governing good faith negotiations of retransmission consent. No formal action has yet been taken on this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and we cannot predict if the full Commission will agree to terminate the Rulemaking without action.

EARNINGS PER SHARE

EARNINGS PER SHARE	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
EARNINGS PER SHARE	EARNINGS PER SHARE: The following table reconciles income (numerator) and shares (denominator) used in our computations of basic and diluted earnings per share for the periods presented (in thousands): Three Months Ended Six Months Ended 2016 2015 2016 2015 Income (Numerator) Net Income $ 50,600 $ 46,399 $ 76,229 $ 71,235 Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests (1,181 ) (612 ) (2,670 ) (1,166 ) Numerator for diluted earnings per common share available to common shareholders $ 49,419 $ 45,787 $ 73,559 $ 70,069 Shares (Denominator) Weighted-average common shares outstanding 95,026 95,307 94,922 95,219 Dilutive effect of stock-settled appreciation rights, restricted stock awards and outstanding stock options 908 743 897 692 Weighted-average common and common equivalent shares outstanding 95,934 96,050 95,819 95,911 There were 525,000 shares for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 , and no shares for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 which had an anti-dilutive effect on the equivalent shares outstanding and therefore excluded from the diluted effect above.

RELATED PERSON TRANSACTIONS

RELATED PERSON TRANSACTIONS	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
RELATED PERSON TRANSACTIONS	RELATED PERSON TRANSACTIONS: Transactions with our controlling shareholders David, Frederick, J. Duncan and Robert Smith (collectively, the controlling shareholders) are brothers and hold substantially all of the Class B Common Stock and some of our Class A Common Stock. We engaged in the following transactions with them and/or entities in which they have substantial interests. Leases. Certain assets used by us and our operating subsidiaries are leased from Cunningham Communications Inc., Keyser Investment Group, Gerstell Development Limited Partnership and Beaver Dam, LLC (entities owned by the controlling shareholders). Lease payments made to these entities were $1.3 million and $1.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , and $2.5 million and $2.6 million for six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. In September 2015, we were granted authority by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to operate an experimental facility in Washington D.C. and Baltimore markets to implement a Single Frequency Network (SFN) using the base elements of the new ATSC 3.0 transmission standard. In conjunction with this experimental facility, Cunningham Communications, Inc. will be providing tower space without charge. Charter Aircraft. We lease aircraft owned by certain controlling shareholders. We incurred expenses of $0.3 million for both the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , and $0.7 million and $0.6 million the for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation Cunningham owns a portfolio of television stations including: WNUV-TV Baltimore, Maryland; WRGT-TV Dayton, Ohio; WVAH-TV Charleston, West Virginia; WMYA-TV Anderson, South Carolina; WTTE-TV Columbus, Ohio; WDBB-TV Birmingham, Alabama; WBSF-TV Flint, Michigan; and WGTU-TV/WGTQ-TV Traverse City/Cadillac, Michigan (collectively, the Cunningham Stations). The estate of Carolyn C. Smith, the mother of our controlling shareholders, currently owns all of the voting stock of the Cunningham Stations. The sale of the voting stock by the estate to an unrelated party is pending approval of the FCC. All of the non-voting stock is owned by trusts for the benefit of the children of our controlling shareholders. We consolidate certain subsidiaries of Cunningham, with which we have variable interests through various arrangements related to the Cunningham Stations discussed further below. As of June 30, 2016 , certain of our stations provide programming, sales and managerial services pursuant to LMAs to six of the Cunningham stations: WNUV-TV, WRGT-TV, WVAH-TV, WMYA-TV, WTTE-TV, and WDBB-TV (collectively, the Cunningham LMA Stations). Each of these LMAs has a current term that expires on July 1, 2023 and there are two additional 5 - year renewal terms remaining with final expiration on July 1, 2033. We also executed purchase agreements to acquire the license related assets of these stations from Cunningham, which grant us the right to acquire, and grant Cunningham the right to require us to acquire, subject to applicable FCC rules and regulations, 100% of the capital stock or the assets of these individual subsidiaries of Cunningham. Our applications to acquire these license related assets are pending FCC approval. In July 2016, we ceased providing programming services to WRGT-TV and WVAH-TV, however, we continue to provide all other services under these agreements. Pursuant to the terms of the LMAs, options and other agreements, we are obligated to pay Cunningham an annual LMA fee for the television stations equal to the greater of (i) 3% of each station’s annual net broadcast revenue and (ii) $4.7 million . The aggregate purchase price of these television stations increases by 6% annually. A portion of the LMA fee is required to be applied to the purchase price to the extent of the 6% increase. The remaining aggregate purchase price of these stations as of June 30, 2016 was approximately $53.6 million . We are obligated to pay Cunningham under our LMAs with these stations $2.3 million and $2.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , respectively and $4.5 million and $4.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. For the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , Cunningham LMA Stations provided us with approximately $28.8 million and $24.1 million , respectively, and approximately $54.4 million and $45.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively, of total revenue. Cunningham also owns the license related assets of WBSF-TV and WGTU-TV/WGTQ-TV. We provide certain non-programming related sales, operational and administrative services to these stations pursuant to certain JSAs and SSAs. The agreements with WBSF-TV and WGTU-TV/WGTQ-TV expire in November 2021 and August 2023, respectively, and each has renewal provisions for successive eight year periods. Under these arrangements, we earned $1.5 million and $1.0 million from the services we performed for these stations for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , respectively, and $2.8 million and $2.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. As we consolidate the licensees as VIEs, the amounts we earn under the arrangements are eliminated in consolidation and the gross revenues of the stations are reported within our consolidated statement of operations. Our consolidated revenues related to these stations include $2.1 million and $1.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , respectively, and $4.1 million and $3.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. During January 2016, Cunningham entered into a promissory note to borrow $19.5 million from us. The note bears interest at a fixed rate of 5.0% per annum (the 5.0% Notes), which is payable quarterly, commencing March 31, 2016. The note matures in January 2021, with additional one year renewal periods upon our approval. In April 2016, we entered into an agreement with Cunningham to provide master control equipment and provide master control services to a station in Johnstown, PA with which they have an LMA for a period of three years ending in 2019. Under the agreement, Cunningham will pay us an initial fee of $0.7 million and $0.2 million annually for master control services plus the cost to maintain and repair of the equipment. Atlantic Automotive Corporation We sold advertising time to and purchased vehicles and related vehicle services from Atlantic Automotive Corporation (Atlantic Automotive), a holding company that owns automobile dealerships and an automobile leasing company. David D. Smith, our President and Chief Executive Officer, has a controlling interest in, and is a member of the Board of Directors of Atlantic Automotive. We received payments for advertising totaling $0.2 million and $0.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , and $0.2 million for both the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. No payments for vehicles or vehicle related services were paid to Atlantic Automotive during the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015. Additionally, Atlantic Automotive leases office space owned by one of our consolidated real estate ventures in Towson, Maryland. Atlantic Automotive paid $0.2 million and $0.3 million in rent during the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , and $0.5 million and $0.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Leased property by real estate ventures Certain of our real estate ventures have entered into leases with entities owned by David Smith to lease restaurant space. There are leases for three restaurants in a building owned by one of our consolidated real estate ventures in Baltimore, MD. Total rent received under these leases was $0.2 million for both the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , and $0.3 million for both the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015. There is also one lease for a restaurant in a building owned by one of our real estate ventures, accounted for under the equity method, in Towson, MD. This investment received $0.1 million in rent pursuant to the lease for both the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , and $0.2 million and $0.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Payments for services provided by these three restaurants to us was less than $0.1 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , respectively.

SEGMENT DATA

SEGMENT DATA	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
SEGMENT DATA	SEGMENT DATA: We measure segment performance based on operating income (loss). Our broadcast segment includes stations in 81 markets located throughout the continental United States. Other primarily consists of original networks and content, digital and internet solutions, technical services and other non-media investments. All of our businesses are located within the United States. Corporate costs primarily include our costs to operate as a public company and to operate our corporate headquarters location. Other and Corporate are not reportable segments but are included for reconciliation purposes. We had approximately $226.4 million and $225.9 million of intercompany loans between the broadcast segment, other and corporate as of June 30, 2016 and 2015 , respectively. We had $6.1 million and $5.6 million in intercompany interest expense related to intercompany loans between the broadcast segment, other and corporate for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , respectively. We had $12.1 million and $10.8 million in intercompany interest expense for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 , respectively. All other intercompany transactions are immaterial. Segment financial information is included in the following tables for the periods presented (in thousands): For the three months ended June 30, 2016 Broadcast Other Corporate Consolidated Revenue $ 608,169 $ 58,365 $ — $ 666,534 Depreciation of property and equipment 22,526 1,617 266 24,409 Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets and other assets 38,551 7,074 — 45,625 Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments 30,821 — — 30,821 General and administrative overhead expenses 12,995 283 1,001 14,279 Research and development — 1,209 — 1,209 Operating income (loss) 145,400 (15,059 ) (1,267 ) 129,074 Interest expense 1,411 1,555 50,950 53,916 Income from equity and cost method investments — 943 — 943 For the three months ended June 30, 2015 Broadcast Other Corporate Consolidated Revenue $ 532,362 $ 21,805 $ — $ 554,167 Depreciation of property and equipment 24,363 631 279 25,273 Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets and other assets 37,232 2,213 — 39,445 Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments 29,782 — — 29,782 General and administrative overhead expenses 11,332 1,265 1,586 14,183 Research and development — 4,237 — 4,237 Operating income (loss) 122,236 (6,481 ) (1,415 ) 114,340 Interest expense — 1,161 46,503 47,664 Income from equity and cost method investments — 2,007 — 2,007 For the six months ended June 30, 2016 Broadcast Other Corporate Consolidated Revenue 1,155,002 90,421 — 1,245,423 Depreciation of property and equipment 45,274 2,638 532 48,444 Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets and other assets 78,321 11,069 — 89,390 Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments 64,281 — — 64,281 General and administrative overhead expenses 33,431 839 1,350 35,620 Research and development — 2,310 — 2,310 Operating income (loss) 243,451 (26,156 ) (1,882 ) 215,413 Interest expense 2,893 3,031 97,407 103,331 Income from equity and cost method investments — 1,366 — 1,366 Assets 4,832,211 825,829 121,637 5,779,677 For the six months ended June 30, 2015 Broadcast Other Corporate Consolidated Revenue $ 1,017,414 $ 41,528 $ — $ 1,058,942 Depreciation of property and equipment 48,539 1,365 558 50,462 Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets and other assets 75,123 4,302 — 79,425 Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments 60,173 — — 60,173 General and administrative overhead expenses 26,259 1,524 2,438 30,221 Research and development — 6,752 — 6,752 Operating income (loss) 214,105 (12,845 ) (2,373 ) 198,887 Interest expense — 2,236 92,076 94,312 Income from equity and cost method investments — 5,153 — 5,153

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS	FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS: Accounting guidance provides for valuation techniques, such as the market approach (comparable market prices), the income approach (present value of future income or cash flow), and the cost approach (cost to replace the service capacity of an asset or replacement cost). A fair value hierarchy using three broad levels prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The following is a brief description of those three levels: • Level 1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. • Level 2: Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets and quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active. • Level 3: Unobservable inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions. The carrying value and fair value of our notes and debentures for the periods presented (in thousands): As of June 30, 2016 As of December 31, 2015 Carrying Value Fair Value Carrying Value Fair Value Level 2: 6.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021 $ 350,000 $ 370,125 $ 350,000 $ 367,325 6.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2022 500,000 520,000 500,000 512,500 5.875% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2026 350,000 357,875 — — 5.625% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2024 550,000 563,750 550,000 539,000 5.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021 600,000 615,600 600,000 605,658 Term Loan A 292,948 290,751 313,620 308,916 Term Loan B 1,369,414 1,365,205 1,376,007 1,365,461 Debt of variable interest entities 24,941 24,941 26,682 26,682 Debt of other operating divisions 129,151 129,151 120,969 120,969

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINANCI

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Condensed Financial Information of Parent Company Only Disclosure [Abstract]
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS	CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: Sinclair Television Group, Inc. (STG), a wholly-owned subsidiary and the television operating subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG), is the primary obligor under the Bank Credit Agreement, the 5.375% Notes, the 5.625% Notes, 6.125% Notes, 6.375% Notes, and 5.875% Notes. Our Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock as of June 30, 2016 , were obligations or securities of SBG and not obligations or securities of STG. SBG is a guarantor under the Bank Credit Agreement, the 5.375% Notes, 5.625% Notes, 6.125% Notes, 6.375% Notes, and 5.875% Notes. As of June 30, 2016 , our consolidated total debt, net of deferred financing costs and debt discounts, of $4,178.8 million included $4,047.2 million related to STG and its subsidiaries of which SBG guaranteed $3,996.7 million . SBG, KDSM, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SBG, and STG’s wholly-owned subsidiaries (guarantor subsidiaries), have fully and unconditionally guaranteed, subject to certain customary automatic release provisions, all of STG’s obligations. Those guarantees are joint and several. There are certain contractual restrictions on the ability of SBG, STG or KDSM, LLC to obtain funds from their subsidiaries in the form of dividends or loans. The following condensed consolidating financial statements present the consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statements of operations and consolidated statements of cash flows of SBG, STG, KDSM, LLC and the guarantor subsidiaries, the direct and indirect non-guarantor subsidiaries of SBG and the eliminations necessary to arrive at our information on a consolidated basis. These statements are presented in accordance with the disclosure requirements under SEC Regulation S-X, Rule 3-10. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET AS OF JUNE 30, 2016 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair Cash $ — $ 72,237 $ 6,799 $ 24,691 $ — $ 103,727 Accounts receivable — — 456,880 34,251 (1,247 ) 489,884 Other current assets 219 6,292 62,550 18,106 (2,759 ) 84,408 Total current assets 219 78,529 526,229 77,048 (4,006 ) 678,019 Property and equipment, net 2,352 19,376 572,156 142,792 (8,870 ) 727,806 Investment in consolidated subsidiaries 543,948 3,772,032 4,179 — (4,320,159 ) — Goodwill — — 2,013,103 4,279 — 2,017,382 Indefinite-lived intangible assets — — 142,016 15,709 — 157,725 Definite-lived intangible assets — — 1,812,739 224,729 (61,682 ) 1,975,786 Other long-term assets 50,901 742,864 104,553 150,306 (825,665 ) 222,959 Total assets $ 597,420 $ 4,612,801 $ 5,174,975 $ 614,863 $ (5,220,382 ) $ 5,779,677 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 100 $ 50,101 $ 196,045 $ 29,053 $ (3,373 ) $ 271,926 Current portion of long-term debt — 59,938 1,751 113,355 — 175,044 Current portion of affiliate long-term debt 1,752 — 1,532 2,137 (1,920 ) 3,501 Other current liabilities — — 72,960 8,309 — 81,269 Total current liabilities 1,852 110,039 272,288 152,854 (5,293 ) 531,740 Long-term debt — 3,912,120 31,977 40,165 — 3,984,262 Affiliate long-term debt 948 — 13,364 378,060 (376,419 ) 15,953 Other liabilities 24,108 30,953 1,101,937 174,008 (626,178 ) 704,828 Total liabilities 26,908 4,053,112 1,419,566 745,087 (1,007,890 ) 5,236,783 Total Sinclair Broadcast Group equity (deficit) 570,512 559,689 3,755,409 (98,249 ) (4,216,849 ) 570,512 Noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries — — — (31,975 ) 4,357 (27,618 ) Total liabilities and equity (deficit) $ 597,420 $ 4,612,801 $ 5,174,975 $ 614,863 $ (5,220,382 ) $ 5,779,677 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2015 (in thousands) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair Cash $ — $ 115,771 $ 235 $ 33,966 $ — $ 149,972 Accounts receivable — 1,775 390,142 33,949 (1,258 ) 424,608 Other current assets 3,648 5,172 99,118 23,278 (4,033 ) 127,183 Total current assets 3,648 122,718 489,495 91,193 (5,291 ) 701,763 Property and equipment, net 2,884 20,336 559,042 143,667 (8,792 ) 717,137 Investment in consolidated subsidiaries 497,262 3,430,434 4,179 — (3,931,875 ) — Goodwill — — 1,926,814 4,279 — 1,931,093 Indefinite-lived intangible assets — — 114,841 17,624 — 132,465 Definite-lived intangible assets — — 1,602,454 206,975 (57,859 ) 1,751,570 Other long-term assets 52,128 673,915 110,507 140,910 (779,173 ) 198,287 Total assets $ 555,922 $ 4,247,403 $ 4,807,332 $ 604,648 $ (4,782,990 ) $ 5,432,315 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 104 $ 49,428 $ 179,156 $ 27,462 $ (4,837 ) $ 251,313 Current portion of long-term debt — 57,640 1,611 106,358 (1,425 ) 164,184 Current portion of affiliate long-term debt 1,651 — 1,311 456 (252 ) 3,166 Other current liabilities — — 103,627 12,713 — 116,340 Total current liabilities 1,755 107,068 285,705 146,989 (6,514 ) 535,003 Long-term debt — 3,594,218 32,743 42,199 — 3,669,160 Affiliate long-term debt 1,857 — 14,240 366,042 (364,289 ) 17,850 Other liabilities 26,500 28,866 1,060,211 171,102 (576,055 ) 710,624 Total liabilities 30,112 3,730,152 1,392,899 726,332 (946,858 ) 4,932,637 Total Sinclair Broadcast Group equity (deficit) 525,810 517,251 3,414,433 (91,703 ) (3,839,981 ) 525,810 Noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries — — — (29,981 ) 3,849 (26,132 ) Total liabilities and equity (deficit) $ 555,922 $ 4,247,403 $ 4,807,332 $ 604,648 $ (4,782,990 ) $ 5,432,315 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2016 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair Net revenue $ — $ — $ 627,517 $ 62,037 $ (23,020 ) $ 666,534 Media production expenses — — 235,138 30,440 (21,958 ) 243,620 Selling, general and administrative 1,001 14,121 125,331 2,326 (12 ) 142,767 Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses 266 1,219 116,970 33,134 (516 ) 151,073 Total operating expenses 1,267 15,340 477,439 65,900 (22,486 ) 537,460 Operating (loss) income (1,267 ) (15,340 ) 150,078 (3,863 ) (534 ) 129,074 Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries 49,136 100,678 69 — (149,883 ) — Interest expense (41 ) (50,908 ) (1,098 ) (8,107 ) 6,238 (53,916 ) Other income (expense) 1,087 148 622 190 — 2,047 Total other income (expense) 50,182 49,918 (407 ) (7,917 ) (143,645 ) (51,869 ) Income tax benefit (provision) 504 18,034 (47,722 ) 2,579 — (26,605 ) Net income (loss) 49,419 52,612 101,949 (9,201 ) (144,179 ) 50,600 Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests — — — (1,262 ) 81 (1,181 ) Net income (loss) attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 49,419 $ 52,612 $ 101,949 $ (10,463 ) $ (144,098 ) $ 49,419 Comprehensive income (loss) $ 49,419 $ 52,612 $ 101,949 $ (9,201 ) $ (144,179 ) $ 50,600 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2015 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair Net revenue $ — $ — $ 522,405 $ 52,908 $ (21,146 ) $ 554,167 Media production expenses — — 180,033 21,272 (19,495 ) 181,810 Selling, general and administrative 1,457 11,429 100,579 4,136 (193 ) 117,408 Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses 266 809 109,201 30,960 (627 ) 140,609 Total operating expenses 1,723 12,238 389,813 56,368 (20,315 ) 439,827 Operating (loss) income (1,723 ) (12,238 ) 132,592 (3,460 ) (831 ) 114,340 Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries 46,369 85,483 (50 ) — (131,802 ) — Interest expense (106 ) (44,969 ) (1,165 ) (7,470 ) 6,046 (47,664 ) Other income (expense) 944 444 203 1,466 — 3,057 Total other income (expense) 47,207 40,958 (1,012 ) (6,004 ) (125,756 ) (44,607 ) Income tax benefit (provision) 303 19,584 (44,899 ) 1,678 — (23,334 ) Net income (loss) 45,787 48,304 86,681 (7,786 ) (126,587 ) 46,399 Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests — — — (646 ) 34 (612 ) Net income (loss) attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 45,787 $ 48,304 $ 86,681 $ (8,432 ) $ (126,553 ) $ 45,787 Comprehensive income (loss) $ 46,483 $ 48,315 $ 86,756 $ (7,786 ) $ (127,285 ) $ 46,483 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2016 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair Net revenue $ — $ — $ 1,172,629 $ 114,287 $ (41,493 ) $ 1,245,423 Program and production — — 444,864 54,821 (40,188 ) 459,497 Selling, general and administrative 2,003 36,219 236,442 4,487 (34 ) 279,117 Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses 532 2,410 225,445 63,990 (981 ) 291,396 Total operating expenses 2,535 38,629 906,751 123,298 (41,203 ) 1,030,010 Operating (loss) income (2,535 ) (38,629 ) 265,878 (9,011 ) (290 ) 215,413 Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries 73,424 175,533 119 — (249,076 ) — Interest expense (136 ) (97,271 ) (2,299 ) (16,003 ) 12,378 (103,331 ) Other income (expense) 2,230 267 609 (174 ) — 2,932 Total other income (expense) 75,518 78,529 (1,571 ) (16,177 ) (236,698 ) (100,399 ) Income tax benefit (provision) 576 41,137 (85,902 ) 5,404 — (38,785 ) Net income (loss) 73,559 81,037 178,405 (19,784 ) (236,988 ) 76,229 Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests — — — (2,161 ) (509 ) (2,670 ) Net income (loss) attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 73,559 $ 81,037 $ 178,405 $ (21,945 ) $ (237,497 ) $ 73,559 Comprehensive income (loss) $ 73,559 $ 81,037 $ 178,405 $ (19,784 ) $ (236,988 ) $ 76,229 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2015 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair Net revenue $ — $ — $ 999,076 $ 99,912 $ (40,046 ) $ 1,058,942 Program and production — — 349,727 41,677 (38,023 ) 353,381 Selling, general and administrative 2,501 26,212 199,927 7,152 (105 ) 235,687 Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses 533 1,584 211,560 58,278 (968 ) 270,987 Total operating expenses 3,034 27,796 761,214 107,107 (39,096 ) 860,055 Operating (loss) income (3,034 ) (27,796 ) 237,862 (7,195 ) (950 ) 198,887 Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries 70,693 149,948 (100 ) — (220,541 ) — Interest expense (207 ) (88,842 ) (2,341 ) (14,176 ) 11,254 (94,312 ) Other income (expense) 2,294 291 266 3,570 — 6,421 Total other income (expense) 72,780 61,397 (2,175 ) (10,606 ) (209,287 ) (87,891 ) Income tax benefit (provision) 323 40,199 (83,277 ) 2,994 — (39,761 ) Net income (loss) 70,069 73,800 152,410 (14,807 ) (210,237 ) 71,235 Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests — — — (1,200 ) 34 (1,166 ) Net income (loss) attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 70,069 $ 73,800 $ 152,410 $ (16,007 ) $ (210,203 ) $ 70,069 Comprehensive income (loss) $ 71,403 $ 73,817 $ 152,561 $ (14,807 ) $ (211,571 ) $ 71,403 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2016 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair NET CASH FLOWS FROM(USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES $ 2,296 $ (81,821 ) $ 282,530 $ (8,483 ) $ 15,136 $ 209,658 CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) INVESTING ACTIVITIES: Acquisition of property and equipment — (1,871 ) (45,155 ) (3,206 ) 446 (49,786 ) Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired — — (412,729 ) (10,375 ) — (423,104 ) Purchase of alarm monitoring contracts — — — (21,616 ) — (21,616 ) Investments in equity and cost method investees — (10,827 ) — (11,016 ) — (21,843 ) Loans to affiliates — (19,500 ) — — — (19,500 ) Other, net 1,197 3,725 58 2,419 — 7,399 Net cash flows from (used in) investing activities 1,197 (28,473 ) (457,826 ) (43,794 ) 446 (528,450 ) CASH FLOWS (USED IN) FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES: Proceeds from notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases — 595,000 — 12,555 — 607,555 Repayments of notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases — (272,672 ) (719 ) (6,184 ) — (279,575 ) Dividends paid on Class A and Class B Common Stock (32,781 ) — — — — (32,781 ) Repurchase of outstanding Class A Common Stock (11,247 ) — — — — (11,247 ) Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables 42,586 (249,887 ) 181,829 41,172 (15,700 ) — Other, net (2,051 ) (5,681 ) 750 (4,541 ) 118 (11,405 ) Net cash flows (used in) from financing activities (3,493 ) 66,760 181,860 43,002 (15,582 ) 272,547 NET (DECREASE) INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — (43,534 ) 6,564 (9,275 ) — (46,245 ) CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period — 115,771 235 33,966 — 149,972 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period $ — $ 72,237 $ 6,799 $ 24,691 $ — $ 103,727 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2015 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair NET CASH FLOWS (USED IN) FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES $ (142 ) $ (70,337 ) $ 265,762 $ (22,433 ) $ 7,397 $ 180,247 CASH FLOWS (USED IN) FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES: Acquisition of property and equipment — (5,852 ) (40,875 ) (1,097 ) 762 (47,062 ) Purchase of alarm monitoring contracts — — — (16,673 ) — (16,673 ) Investments in equity and cost method investees — (4,401 ) (33 ) (33,375 ) — (37,809 ) Other, net 3,486 (961 ) 4,788 4,338 — 11,651 Net cash flows (used in) from investing activities 3,486 (11,214 ) (36,120 ) (46,807 ) 762 (89,893 ) CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) FINANCING ACTIVITIES: Proceeds from notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases — 349,562 — 15,291 — 364,853 Repayments of notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases (312 ) (357,328 ) (611 ) (2,229 ) — (360,480 ) Dividends paid on Class A and Class B Common Stock (31,464 ) — — — — (31,464 ) Repurchase of outstanding Class A Common Stock (7,803 ) — — — — (7,803 ) Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables 37,036 138,814 (230,262 ) 62,571 (8,159 ) — Other, net (801 ) (3,491 ) 550 (4,821 ) — (8,563 ) Net cash flows (used in) from financing activities (3,344 ) 127,557 (230,323 ) 70,812 (8,159 ) (43,457 ) NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — 46,006 (681 ) 1,572 — 46,897 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period — 3,394 1,749 12,539 — 17,682 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period $ — $ 49,400 $ 1,068 $ 14,111 $ — $ 64,579

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMM17

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Nature of Operations	Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is a diversified television broadcasting company with national reach with a strong focus on providing high-quality content on our local television stations and digital platforms. The content, distributed through our broadcast platform, consists of programming provided by third-party networks and syndicators, local news, and other original programming produced by us. We also distribute our original programming, and owned and operated network affiliates, on other third-party platforms. Additionally, we own digital media products that are complementary to our extensive portfolio of television station related digital properties. Outside of our media related businesses, we operate technical services companies focused on supply and maintenance of broadcast transmission systems as well as research and development for the advancement of broadcast technology, and we manage other non-media related investments. As of June 30, 2016 , our broadcast distribution platform is a single reportable segment for accounting purposes. It consists primarily of our broadcast television stations, which we own, provide programming and operating services pursuant to agreements commonly referred to as local marketing agreements (LMAs), or provide sales services and other non-programming operating services pursuant to other outsourcing agreements (such as joint sales agreements (JSAs) and shared services agreements (SSAs)) to 173 stations in 81 markets. These stations broadcast 484 channels, as of June 30, 2016 . For the purpose of this report, these 173 stations and 484 channels are referred to as “our” stations and channels.
Principles of Consolidation and Interim Financial Statements	The consolidated financial statements include our accounts and those of our wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries and variable interest entities (VIEs) for which we are the primary beneficiary. Noncontrolling interest represents a minority owner’s proportionate share of the equity in certain of our consolidated entities. All intercompany transactions and account balances have been eliminated in consolidation. Interim Financial Statements The consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 are unaudited. In the opinion of management, such financial statements have been presented on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements and include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statements of operations, consolidated statements of comprehensive income, consolidated statement of equity (deficit) and consolidated statements of cash flows for these periods as adjusted for the adoption of recent accounting pronouncements discussed below. As permitted under the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the consolidated financial statements do not include all disclosures normally included with audited consolidated financial statements and, accordingly, should be read together with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 filed with the SEC. The consolidated statements of operations presented in the accompanying consolidated financial statements are not necessarily representative of operations for an entire year.
Variable Interest Entities	In determining whether we are the primary beneficiary of a VIE for financial reporting purposes, we consider whether we have the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the economic performance of the VIE and whether we have the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive returns that would be significant to the VIE. We consolidate VIEs when we are the primary beneficiary. Third-party station licensees. Certain of our stations provide services to other station owners within the same respective market through agreements, such as LMAs, where we provide programming, sales, operational and administrative services, and JSAs and SSAs, where we provide non-programming, sales, operational and administrative services. In certain cases, we have also entered into purchase agreements or options to purchase the license related assets of the licensee. We typically own the majority of the non-license assets of the stations, and in some cases where the licensee acquired the license assets concurrent with our acquisition of the non-license assets of the station, we have provided guarantees to the bank for the licensee’s acquisition financing. The terms of the agreements vary, but generally have initial terms of over five years with several optional renewal terms. As of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 , respectively, we have concluded that 37 of these licensees are VIEs. Based on the terms of the agreements and the significance of our investment in the stations, we are the primary beneficiary of the variable interests because, subject to the ultimate control of the licensees, we have the power to direct the activities which significantly impact the economic performance of the VIE through the services we provide and because we absorb losses and returns that would be considered significant to the VIEs. Several of these VIEs are owned by a related party, Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation (Cunningham). See Note 6. Related Person Transactions for more information about the arrangements with Cunningham. The net revenues of the stations which we consolidate were $76.8 million and $148.3 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 , and $71.8 million and $136.6 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 , respectively. The fees paid between us and the licensees pursuant to these arrangements are eliminated in consolidation. See Changes in the Rules of Television Ownership, Joint Sales Agreements, and Retransmission Consent Negotiations within Note 4. Commitments and Contingencies for discussion of recent changes in FCC rules related to JSAs. As of the dates indicated, the carrying amounts and classification of the assets and liabilities of the VIEs mentioned above which have been included in our consolidated balance sheets for the periods presented (in thousands): June 30, December 31, ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS: Cash and cash equivalents $ 490 $ 490 Accounts receivable 22,692 21,719 Current portion of program contract costs 6,609 13,287 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 396 331 Total current assets 30,187 35,827 PROGRAM CONTRACT COSTS, less current portion 2,644 4,541 PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net 8,828 7,609 GOODWILL 791 787 INDEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS 15,684 17,599 DEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS, net 82,396 79,086 OTHER ASSETS 6,924 6,924 Total assets $ 147,454 $ 152,373 LIABILITIES CURRENT LIABILITIES: Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 1,187 $ 1,240 Current portion of notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing 3,702 3,687 Current portion of program contracts payable 8,256 12,627 Total current liabilities 13,145 17,554 LONG-TERM LIABILITIES: Notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing, less current portion 22,837 24,594 Program contracts payable, less current portion 11,403 13,679 Other long-term liabilities 9,522 8,067 Total liabilities $ 56,907 $ 63,894 The amounts above represent the consolidated assets and liabilities of the VIEs described above, for which we are the primary beneficiary, and have been aggregated as they all relate to our broadcast business. Excluded from the amounts above are payments made to Cunningham under the LMAs which are treated as a prepayment of the purchase price of the stations and capital leases between us and Cunningham which are eliminated in consolidation. The total payments made under these LMAs as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 , which are excluded from liabilities above, were $39.2 million and $37.6 million , respectively. The total capital lease liabilities, net of capital lease assets, excluded from the above were $4.4 million and $4.5 million for June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 . Also excluded from the amounts above are liabilities associated with certain outsourcing agreements and purchase options with certain VIEs totaling $78.0 million and $72.5 million as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 , respectively, as these amounts are eliminated in consolidation. The assets of each of these consolidated VIEs can only be used to settle the obligations of the VIE. All the liabilities are non-recourse to us except for certain debt of VIEs which we guarantee. The risk and reward characteristics of the VIEs are similar. Other investments. We have investments in real estate ventures and investment companies which are considered VIEs. However, we do not participate in the management of these entities including the day-to-day operating decisions or other decisions which would allow us to control the entity, and therefore, we are not considered the primary beneficiary of these VIEs. We account for these entities using the equity or cost method of accounting. The carrying amounts of our investments in these VIEs for which we are not the primary beneficiary as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 are $113.5 million and $18.1 million , respectively, and are included in other assets in the consolidated balance sheets. The increase in 2016 was due to the adoption of the revised accounting guidance during the first quarter of 2016 related to consolidation as discussed under Recent Accounting Pronouncements below, which resulted in additional investments being considered VIEs. Our maximum exposure is equal to the carrying value of our investments. The income and loss related to these investments are recorded in income from equity and cost method investments in the consolidated statement of operations.
Use of Estimates	The preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses in the consolidated financial statements and in the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued guidance on revenue recognition for revenue from contracts with customers. This guidance requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers and will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance when it becomes effective. The new standard is effective for the annual reporting period beginning after December 15, 2017, however, early adoption is permitted. The standard permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. We are currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements. In August 2014, the FASB issued guidance on disclosure of uncertainties about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The new standard is effective for the annual period ending after December 15, 2016, and for annual periods and interim periods thereafter. We are currently evaluating the impact of this new guidance on our consolidated financial statements. In February 2015, the FASB issued new guidance that amends the current consolidation guidance on the determination of whether an entity is a variable interest entity. The new standard is effective for the interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. We adopted this revised guidance on a modified retrospective basis during the three months ended March 31, 2016. As disclosed under Other investments under Variable Interest Entities above, the adoption of the revised guidance resulted in additional investments in real estate ventures and investment companies being considered VIEs, however, we concluded that we were not the primary beneficiary of these investments. The revised guidance did not have any other impact on our consolidation conclusions. In February 2016, the FASB issued new guidance related to accounting for leases, which requires the assets and liabilities that arise from leases to be recognized on the balance sheet. Currently only capital leases are recorded on the balance sheet. This update will require the lessee to recognize a lease liability equal to the present value of the lease payments and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term for all leases longer than 12 months. For leases with a term of 12 months or less, a lessee is permitted to make an accounting policy election by class of underlying asset not to recognize lease assets and liabilities and recognize the lease expense for such leases generally on a straight-line basis over the lease term. This update will be effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements. In March 2016, the FASB issued new guidance that simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions, including the accounting for income tax effects, forfeitures, the impact of employee income tax withholdings and classification of certain related items in the statement of cash flows. We early adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2016, which did not have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements. The adoption of the various changes in the guidance were applied as required by the guidance either on the prospective, modified retrospective, or full retrospective basis. As shown in the consolidated statement of stockholders' equity, upon adoption, we recorded a $0.4 million increase to additional paid in capital and a $1.8 million decrease in accumulated deficit, net of taxes, to record the cumulative effect of changing the classification of certain liability awards to equity classification. Additionally, for the six months ended June 30, 2015, we reclassified $2.2 million from net cash flows from operating activities to net cash flows from financing activities in our consolidated statement of cash flows related to cash payments made to taxing authorities on certain employees' behalf for shares withheld.
Revenue Recognition	Total revenues include: (i) cash and barter advertising revenues, net of agency commissions; (ii) retransmission consent fees; (iii) network compensation; (iv) other media revenues and (v) revenues from our other businesses. Advertising revenues, net of agency commissions, are recognized in the period during which advertisements are placed. Some of our retransmission consent agreements contain both advertising and retransmission consent elements. We have determined that these retransmission consent agreements are revenue arrangements with multiple deliverables. Advertising and retransmission consent deliverables sold under our agreements are separated into different units of accounting at fair value. Revenue applicable to the advertising element of the arrangement is recognized similar to the advertising revenue policy noted above. Revenue applicable to the retransmission consent element of the arrangement is recognized over the life of the agreement. Network compensation revenue is recognized over the term of the contract. All other significant revenues are recognized as services are provided.
Income Taxes	Our income tax provision for all periods consists of federal and state income taxes. The tax provision for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 is based on the estimated effective tax rate applicable for the full year after taking into account discrete tax items and the effects of the noncontrolling interests. We provide a valuation allowance for deferred tax assets if we determine that it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. In evaluating our ability to realize net deferred tax assets, we consider all available evidence, both positive and negative, including our past operating results, tax planning strategies and forecasts of future taxable income. In considering these sources of taxable income, we must make certain judgments that are based on the plans and estimates used to manage our underlying businesses on a long-term basis. A valuation allowance has been provided for deferred tax assets related to a substantial portion of our available state net operating loss (NOL) carryforwards, based on past operating results, expected timing of the reversals of existing temporary book/tax basis differences, alternative tax strategies and projected future taxable income. Our effective income tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 approximated the statutory rate. Our effective income tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2015 was less than the statutory rate primarily due to a decrease in our income tax provision resulting from certain state law changes. Our effective income tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2015 exceeded the statutory rate primarily due to an increase in income tax provision resulting from a settlement of a state income tax position. We believe it is reasonably possible that our liability for unrecognized tax benefits related to continuing operations could be reduced by up to $1.3 million , in the next twelve months, as a result of expected statute of limitations expirations, the application of limits under available state administrative practice exceptions, and the resolution of examination issues and settlements with federal and certain state tax authorities.
Reclassifications	Certain reclassifications have been made to prior years' consolidated financial statements to conform to the current year's presentation.

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMM18

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Tables)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Schedule of Carrying Amounts and Classification of Assets and Liabilities of VIEs	As of the dates indicated, the carrying amounts and classification of the assets and liabilities of the VIEs mentioned above which have been included in our consolidated balance sheets for the periods presented (in thousands): June 30, December 31, ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS: Cash and cash equivalents $ 490 $ 490 Accounts receivable 22,692 21,719 Current portion of program contract costs 6,609 13,287 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 396 331 Total current assets 30,187 35,827 PROGRAM CONTRACT COSTS, less current portion 2,644 4,541 PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net 8,828 7,609 GOODWILL 791 787 INDEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS 15,684 17,599 DEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS, net 82,396 79,086 OTHER ASSETS 6,924 6,924 Total assets $ 147,454 $ 152,373 LIABILITIES CURRENT LIABILITIES: Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 1,187 $ 1,240 Current portion of notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing 3,702 3,687 Current portion of program contracts payable 8,256 12,627 Total current liabilities 13,145 17,554 LONG-TERM LIABILITIES: Notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing, less current portion 22,837 24,594 Program contracts payable, less current portion 11,403 13,679 Other long-term liabilities 9,522 8,067 Total liabilities $ 56,907 $ 63,894

ACQUISITIONS (Tables)

ACQUISITIONS (Tables)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Business Combinations [Abstract]
Schedule of allocated fair value of acquired assets and liabilities assumed	The following table summarizes the allocated fair value of acquired assets and assumed liabilities (in thousands): Cash $ 5,111 Accounts receivable 17,629 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 6,518 Property and equipment 5,964 Definite-lived intangible assets 227,096 Indefinite-lived intangible assets 24,900 Other assets 619 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (7,414 ) Capital leases (115 ) Deferred tax liability (3,964 ) Other long term liabilities (1,669 ) Fair value of identifiable net assets acquired 274,675 Goodwill 81,814 Total $ 356,489
Schedule of allocated to definite-lived intangible assets	The following table summarizes the amounts allocated to definite-lived intangible assets representing the estimated fair values (in thousands): Customer relationships $ 223,400 Other intangible assets 3,696 Fair value of identifiable definite-lived intangible assets acquired $ 227,096
Schedule of unaudited pro forma results of operations	The pro forma results exclude the acquisition of television station acquisitions discussed below, as they were deemed not material both individually and in the aggregate (in thousands, except per share data): Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, 2016 2015 2016 2015 Total revenues $ 666,534 $ 583,081 $ 1,259,915 $ 1,107,363 Net Income $ 50,600 $ 43,297 $ 75,474 $ 67,304 Net Income attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 49,419 $ 42,685 $ 72,804 $ 66,138 Basic earnings per share attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 0.52 $ 0.45 $ 0.77 $ 0.69 Diluted earnings per share attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 0.52 $ 0.44 $ 0.76 $ 0.69

EARNINGS PER SHARE (Tables)

EARNINGS PER SHARE (Tables)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Schedule of reconciliation of income (numerator) and shares (denominator) used in computation of diluted earnings per share	The following table reconciles income (numerator) and shares (denominator) used in our computations of basic and diluted earnings per share for the periods presented (in thousands): Three Months Ended Six Months Ended 2016 2015 2016 2015 Income (Numerator) Net Income $ 50,600 $ 46,399 $ 76,229 $ 71,235 Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests (1,181 ) (612 ) (2,670 ) (1,166 ) Numerator for diluted earnings per common share available to common shareholders $ 49,419 $ 45,787 $ 73,559 $ 70,069 Shares (Denominator) Weighted-average common shares outstanding 95,026 95,307 94,922 95,219 Dilutive effect of stock-settled appreciation rights, restricted stock awards and outstanding stock options 908 743 897 692 Weighted-average common and common equivalent shares outstanding 95,934 96,050 95,819 95,911

SEGMENT DATA (Tables)

SEGMENT DATA (Tables)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Schedule of segment financial information	Segment financial information is included in the following tables for the periods presented (in thousands): For the three months ended June 30, 2016 Broadcast Other Corporate Consolidated Revenue $ 608,169 $ 58,365 $ — $ 666,534 Depreciation of property and equipment 22,526 1,617 266 24,409 Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets and other assets 38,551 7,074 — 45,625 Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments 30,821 — — 30,821 General and administrative overhead expenses 12,995 283 1,001 14,279 Research and development — 1,209 — 1,209 Operating income (loss) 145,400 (15,059 ) (1,267 ) 129,074 Interest expense 1,411 1,555 50,950 53,916 Income from equity and cost method investments — 943 — 943 For the three months ended June 30, 2015 Broadcast Other Corporate Consolidated Revenue $ 532,362 $ 21,805 $ — $ 554,167 Depreciation of property and equipment 24,363 631 279 25,273 Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets and other assets 37,232 2,213 — 39,445 Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments 29,782 — — 29,782 General and administrative overhead expenses 11,332 1,265 1,586 14,183 Research and development — 4,237 — 4,237 Operating income (loss) 122,236 (6,481 ) (1,415 ) 114,340 Interest expense — 1,161 46,503 47,664 Income from equity and cost method investments — 2,007 — 2,007 For the six months ended June 30, 2016 Broadcast Other Corporate Consolidated Revenue 1,155,002 90,421 — 1,245,423 Depreciation of property and equipment 45,274 2,638 532 48,444 Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets and other assets 78,321 11,069 — 89,390 Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments 64,281 — — 64,281 General and administrative overhead expenses 33,431 839 1,350 35,620 Research and development — 2,310 — 2,310 Operating income (loss) 243,451 (26,156 ) (1,882 ) 215,413 Interest expense 2,893 3,031 97,407 103,331 Income from equity and cost method investments — 1,366 — 1,366 Assets 4,832,211 825,829 121,637 5,779,677 For the six months ended June 30, 2015 Broadcast Other Corporate Consolidated Revenue $ 1,017,414 $ 41,528 $ — $ 1,058,942 Depreciation of property and equipment 48,539 1,365 558 50,462 Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets and other assets 75,123 4,302 — 79,425 Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments 60,173 — — 60,173 General and administrative overhead expenses 26,259 1,524 2,438 30,221 Research and development — 6,752 — 6,752 Operating income (loss) 214,105 (12,845 ) (2,373 ) 198,887 Interest expense — 2,236 92,076 94,312 Income from equity and cost method investments — 5,153 — 5,153

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (Tables

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (Tables)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Schedule of carrying value and fair value of notes and debentures	The carrying value and fair value of our notes and debentures for the periods presented (in thousands): As of June 30, 2016 As of December 31, 2015 Carrying Value Fair Value Carrying Value Fair Value Level 2: 6.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021 $ 350,000 $ 370,125 $ 350,000 $ 367,325 6.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2022 500,000 520,000 500,000 512,500 5.875% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2026 350,000 357,875 — — 5.625% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2024 550,000 563,750 550,000 539,000 5.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021 600,000 615,600 600,000 605,658 Term Loan A 292,948 290,751 313,620 308,916 Term Loan B 1,369,414 1,365,205 1,376,007 1,365,461 Debt of variable interest entities 24,941 24,941 26,682 26,682 Debt of other operating divisions 129,151 129,151 120,969 120,969

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINAN23

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Tables)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016
Condensed Financial Information of Parent Company Only Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of condensed consolidating balance sheet	These statements are presented in accordance with the disclosure requirements under SEC Regulation S-X, Rule 3-10. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET AS OF JUNE 30, 2016 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair Cash $ — $ 72,237 $ 6,799 $ 24,691 $ — $ 103,727 Accounts receivable — — 456,880 34,251 (1,247 ) 489,884 Other current assets 219 6,292 62,550 18,106 (2,759 ) 84,408 Total current assets 219 78,529 526,229 77,048 (4,006 ) 678,019 Property and equipment, net 2,352 19,376 572,156 142,792 (8,870 ) 727,806 Investment in consolidated subsidiaries 543,948 3,772,032 4,179 — (4,320,159 ) — Goodwill — — 2,013,103 4,279 — 2,017,382 Indefinite-lived intangible assets — — 142,016 15,709 — 157,725 Definite-lived intangible assets — — 1,812,739 224,729 (61,682 ) 1,975,786 Other long-term assets 50,901 742,864 104,553 150,306 (825,665 ) 222,959 Total assets $ 597,420 $ 4,612,801 $ 5,174,975 $ 614,863 $ (5,220,382 ) $ 5,779,677 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 100 $ 50,101 $ 196,045 $ 29,053 $ (3,373 ) $ 271,926 Current portion of long-term debt — 59,938 1,751 113,355 — 175,044 Current portion of affiliate long-term debt 1,752 — 1,532 2,137 (1,920 ) 3,501 Other current liabilities — — 72,960 8,309 — 81,269 Total current liabilities 1,852 110,039 272,288 152,854 (5,293 ) 531,740 Long-term debt — 3,912,120 31,977 40,165 — 3,984,262 Affiliate long-term debt 948 — 13,364 378,060 (376,419 ) 15,953 Other liabilities 24,108 30,953 1,101,937 174,008 (626,178 ) 704,828 Total liabilities 26,908 4,053,112 1,419,566 745,087 (1,007,890 ) 5,236,783 Total Sinclair Broadcast Group equity (deficit) 570,512 559,689 3,755,409 (98,249 ) (4,216,849 ) 570,512 Noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries — — — (31,975 ) 4,357 (27,618 ) Total liabilities and equity (deficit) $ 597,420 $ 4,612,801 $ 5,174,975 $ 614,863 $ (5,220,382 ) $ 5,779,677 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2015 (in thousands) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair Cash $ — $ 115,771 $ 235 $ 33,966 $ — $ 149,972 Accounts receivable — 1,775 390,142 33,949 (1,258 ) 424,608 Other current assets 3,648 5,172 99,118 23,278 (4,033 ) 127,183 Total current assets 3,648 122,718 489,495 91,193 (5,291 ) 701,763 Property and equipment, net 2,884 20,336 559,042 143,667 (8,792 ) 717,137 Investment in consolidated subsidiaries 497,262 3,430,434 4,179 — (3,931,875 ) — Goodwill — — 1,926,814 4,279 — 1,931,093 Indefinite-lived intangible assets — — 114,841 17,624 — 132,465 Definite-lived intangible assets — — 1,602,454 206,975 (57,859 ) 1,751,570 Other long-term assets 52,128 673,915 110,507 140,910 (779,173 ) 198,287 Total assets $ 555,922 $ 4,247,403 $ 4,807,332 $ 604,648 $ (4,782,990 ) $ 5,432,315 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 104 $ 49,428 $ 179,156 $ 27,462 $ (4,837 ) $ 251,313 Current portion of long-term debt — 57,640 1,611 106,358 (1,425 ) 164,184 Current portion of affiliate long-term debt 1,651 — 1,311 456 (252 ) 3,166 Other current liabilities — — 103,627 12,713 — 116,340 Total current liabilities 1,755 107,068 285,705 146,989 (6,514 ) 535,003 Long-term debt — 3,594,218 32,743 42,199 — 3,669,160 Affiliate long-term debt 1,857 — 14,240 366,042 (364,289 ) 17,850 Other liabilities 26,500 28,866 1,060,211 171,102 (576,055 ) 710,624 Total liabilities 30,112 3,730,152 1,392,899 726,332 (946,858 ) 4,932,637 Total Sinclair Broadcast Group equity (deficit) 525,810 517,251 3,414,433 (91,703 ) (3,839,981 ) 525,810 Noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries — — — (29,981 ) 3,849 (26,132 ) Total liabilities and equity (deficit) $ 555,922 $ 4,247,403 $ 4,807,332 $ 604,648 $ (4,782,990 ) $ 5,432,315
Schedule of condensed consolidating statement of operations and comprehensive income	CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2016 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair Net revenue $ — $ — $ 627,517 $ 62,037 $ (23,020 ) $ 666,534 Media production expenses — — 235,138 30,440 (21,958 ) 243,620 Selling, general and administrative 1,001 14,121 125,331 2,326 (12 ) 142,767 Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses 266 1,219 116,970 33,134 (516 ) 151,073 Total operating expenses 1,267 15,340 477,439 65,900 (22,486 ) 537,460 Operating (loss) income (1,267 ) (15,340 ) 150,078 (3,863 ) (534 ) 129,074 Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries 49,136 100,678 69 — (149,883 ) — Interest expense (41 ) (50,908 ) (1,098 ) (8,107 ) 6,238 (53,916 ) Other income (expense) 1,087 148 622 190 — 2,047 Total other income (expense) 50,182 49,918 (407 ) (7,917 ) (143,645 ) (51,869 ) Income tax benefit (provision) 504 18,034 (47,722 ) 2,579 — (26,605 ) Net income (loss) 49,419 52,612 101,949 (9,201 ) (144,179 ) 50,600 Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests — — — (1,262 ) 81 (1,181 ) Net income (loss) attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 49,419 $ 52,612 $ 101,949 $ (10,463 ) $ (144,098 ) $ 49,419 Comprehensive income (loss) $ 49,419 $ 52,612 $ 101,949 $ (9,201 ) $ (144,179 ) $ 50,600 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2015 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair Net revenue $ — $ — $ 522,405 $ 52,908 $ (21,146 ) $ 554,167 Media production expenses — — 180,033 21,272 (19,495 ) 181,810 Selling, general and administrative 1,457 11,429 100,579 4,136 (193 ) 117,408 Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses 266 809 109,201 30,960 (627 ) 140,609 Total operating expenses 1,723 12,238 389,813 56,368 (20,315 ) 439,827 Operating (loss) income (1,723 ) (12,238 ) 132,592 (3,460 ) (831 ) 114,340 Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries 46,369 85,483 (50 ) — (131,802 ) — Interest expense (106 ) (44,969 ) (1,165 ) (7,470 ) 6,046 (47,664 ) Other income (expense) 944 444 203 1,466 — 3,057 Total other income (expense) 47,207 40,958 (1,012 ) (6,004 ) (125,756 ) (44,607 ) Income tax benefit (provision) 303 19,584 (44,899 ) 1,678 — (23,334 ) Net income (loss) 45,787 48,304 86,681 (7,786 ) (126,587 ) 46,399 Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests — — — (646 ) 34 (612 ) Net income (loss) attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 45,787 $ 48,304 $ 86,681 $ (8,432 ) $ (126,553 ) $ 45,787 Comprehensive income (loss) $ 46,483 $ 48,315 $ 86,756 $ (7,786 ) $ (127,285 ) $ 46,483 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2016 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair Net revenue $ — $ — $ 1,172,629 $ 114,287 $ (41,493 ) $ 1,245,423 Program and production — — 444,864 54,821 (40,188 ) 459,497 Selling, general and administrative 2,003 36,219 236,442 4,487 (34 ) 279,117 Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses 532 2,410 225,445 63,990 (981 ) 291,396 Total operating expenses 2,535 38,629 906,751 123,298 (41,203 ) 1,030,010 Operating (loss) income (2,535 ) (38,629 ) 265,878 (9,011 ) (290 ) 215,413 Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries 73,424 175,533 119 — (249,076 ) — Interest expense (136 ) (97,271 ) (2,299 ) (16,003 ) 12,378 (103,331 ) Other income (expense) 2,230 267 609 (174 ) — 2,932 Total other income (expense) 75,518 78,529 (1,571 ) (16,177 ) (236,698 ) (100,399 ) Income tax benefit (provision) 576 41,137 (85,902 ) 5,404 — (38,785 ) Net income (loss) 73,559 81,037 178,405 (19,784 ) (236,988 ) 76,229 Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests — — — (2,161 ) (509 ) (2,670 ) Net income (loss) attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 73,559 $ 81,037 $ 178,405 $ (21,945 ) $ (237,497 ) $ 73,559 Comprehensive income (loss) $ 73,559 $ 81,037 $ 178,405 $ (19,784 ) $ (236,988 ) $ 76,229 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2015 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair Net revenue $ — $ — $ 999,076 $ 99,912 $ (40,046 ) $ 1,058,942 Program and production — — 349,727 41,677 (38,023 ) 353,381 Selling, general and administrative 2,501 26,212 199,927 7,152 (105 ) 235,687 Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses 533 1,584 211,560 58,278 (968 ) 270,987 Total operating expenses 3,034 27,796 761,214 107,107 (39,096 ) 860,055 Operating (loss) income (3,034 ) (27,796 ) 237,862 (7,195 ) (950 ) 198,887 Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries 70,693 149,948 (100 ) — (220,541 ) — Interest expense (207 ) (88,842 ) (2,341 ) (14,176 ) 11,254 (94,312 ) Other income (expense) 2,294 291 266 3,570 — 6,421 Total other income (expense) 72,780 61,397 (2,175 ) (10,606 ) (209,287 ) (87,891 ) Income tax benefit (provision) 323 40,199 (83,277 ) 2,994 — (39,761 ) Net income (loss) 70,069 73,800 152,410 (14,807 ) (210,237 ) 71,235 Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests — — — (1,200 ) 34 (1,166 ) Net income (loss) attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group $ 70,069 $ 73,800 $ 152,410 $ (16,007 ) $ (210,203 ) $ 70,069 Comprehensive income (loss) $ 71,403 $ 73,817 $ 152,561 $ (14,807 ) $ (211,571 ) $ 71,403
Schedule of condensed consolidating statement of cash flows	CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2016 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair NET CASH FLOWS FROM(USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES $ 2,296 $ (81,821 ) $ 282,530 $ (8,483 ) $ 15,136 $ 209,658 CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) INVESTING ACTIVITIES: Acquisition of property and equipment — (1,871 ) (45,155 ) (3,206 ) 446 (49,786 ) Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired — — (412,729 ) (10,375 ) — (423,104 ) Purchase of alarm monitoring contracts — — — (21,616 ) — (21,616 ) Investments in equity and cost method investees — (10,827 ) — (11,016 ) — (21,843 ) Loans to affiliates — (19,500 ) — — — (19,500 ) Other, net 1,197 3,725 58 2,419 — 7,399 Net cash flows from (used in) investing activities 1,197 (28,473 ) (457,826 ) (43,794 ) 446 (528,450 ) CASH FLOWS (USED IN) FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES: Proceeds from notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases — 595,000 — 12,555 — 607,555 Repayments of notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases — (272,672 ) (719 ) (6,184 ) — (279,575 ) Dividends paid on Class A and Class B Common Stock (32,781 ) — — — — (32,781 ) Repurchase of outstanding Class A Common Stock (11,247 ) — — — — (11,247 ) Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables 42,586 (249,887 ) 181,829 41,172 (15,700 ) — Other, net (2,051 ) (5,681 ) 750 (4,541 ) 118 (11,405 ) Net cash flows (used in) from financing activities (3,493 ) 66,760 181,860 43,002 (15,582 ) 272,547 NET (DECREASE) INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — (43,534 ) 6,564 (9,275 ) — (46,245 ) CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period — 115,771 235 33,966 — 149,972 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period $ — $ 72,237 $ 6,799 $ 24,691 $ — $ 103,727 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2015 (in thousands) (unaudited) Sinclair Sinclair Guarantor Non- Eliminations Sinclair NET CASH FLOWS (USED IN) FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES $ (142 ) $ (70,337 ) $ 265,762 $ (22,433 ) $ 7,397 $ 180,247 CASH FLOWS (USED IN) FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES: Acquisition of property and equipment — (5,852 ) (40,875 ) (1,097 ) 762 (47,062 ) Purchase of alarm monitoring contracts — — — (16,673 ) — (16,673 ) Investments in equity and cost method investees — (4,401 ) (33 ) (33,375 ) — (37,809 ) Other, net 3,486 (961 ) 4,788 4,338 — 11,651 Net cash flows (used in) from investing activities 3,486 (11,214 ) (36,120 ) (46,807 ) 762 (89,893 ) CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) FINANCING ACTIVITIES: Proceeds from notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases — 349,562 — 15,291 — 364,853 Repayments of notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases (312 ) (357,328 ) (611 ) (2,229 ) — (360,480 ) Dividends paid on Class A and Class B Common Stock (31,464 ) — — — — (31,464 ) Repurchase of outstanding Class A Common Stock (7,803 ) — — — — (7,803 ) Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables 37,036 138,814 (230,262 ) 62,571 (8,159 ) — Other, net (801 ) (3,491 ) 550 (4,821 ) — (8,563 ) Net cash flows (used in) from financing activities (3,344 ) 127,557 (230,323 ) 70,812 (8,159 ) (43,457 ) NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS — 46,006 (681 ) 1,572 — 46,897 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period — 3,394 1,749 12,539 — 17,682 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period $ — $ 49,400 $ 1,068 $ 14,111 $ — $ 64,579

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMM24

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Nature of Operations (Narrative) (Details)	Jun. 30, 2016channelstationmarket
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Number of television stations owned | station	173
Number of markets | market	81
Number of channels | channel	484

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMM25

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Variable Interest Entities (Narrative) (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016USD ($)license	Jun. 30, 2015USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)license
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Media revenues	$ 666,534	$ 554,167	$ 1,245,423	$ 1,058,942
Income from equity and cost method investments	943	2,007	1,366	5,153
Eliminations
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Media revenues	(23,020)	(21,146)	$ (41,493)	(40,046)
Consolidated VIEs, aggregated
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Initial term of certain outsourcing agreements			5 years
Number of licensees as VIEs (license) | license			37		37
Media revenues	76,800	71,800	$ 148,300	136,600
Consolidated VIEs | Eliminations
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Liabilities associated with the certain outsourcing agreements and purchase options	78,000		78,000		$ 72,500
Consolidated VIEs | Cunningham | Eliminations
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Total payments made under the LMA excluded from liabilities	39,200		39,200		37,600
Total capital leased liabilities excluded from VIE consolidation	4,400		4,400		4,500
VIEs which are not primary beneficiary
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Carrying amount	113,500		113,500		$ 18,100
Income from equity and cost method investments	$ 900	$ 2,600	$ 1,200	$ 5,500

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMM26

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Schedule of Variable Interest Entities Assets and Liabilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Jun. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents		$ 103,727	$ 149,972	$ 64,579	$ 17,682
Accounts receivable		489,884	424,608
Current portion of program contract costs		36,359	91,466
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		38,949	26,903
Total current assets		678,019	701,763
PROGRAM CONTRACT COSTS, less current portion		10,484	18,996
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net		727,806	717,137
GOODWILL		2,017,382	1,931,093
INDEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS		157,725	132,465
DEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS, net		1,975,786	1,751,570
OTHER ASSETS		212,475	175,566
Total assets	[1]	5,779,677	5,432,315
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		271,926	251,313
Current portion of notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing		175,044	164,184
Current portion of program contracts payable		63,492	108,260
Total current liabilities		531,740	535,003
LONG-TERM LIABILITIES:
Notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing, less current portion		3,984,262	3,669,160
Program contracts payable, less current portion		45,110	56,921
Other long-term liabilities		72,429	68,631
Total liabilities	[1]	5,236,783	4,932,637
Consolidated VIEs, aggregated
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents		490	490
Accounts receivable		22,692	21,719
Current portion of program contract costs		6,609	13,287
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		396	331
Total current assets		30,187	35,827
PROGRAM CONTRACT COSTS, less current portion		2,644	4,541
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net		8,828	7,609
GOODWILL		791	787
INDEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS		15,684	17,599
DEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS, net		82,396	79,086
OTHER ASSETS		6,924	6,924
Total assets		147,454	152,373
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		1,187	1,240
Current portion of notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing		3,702	3,687
Current portion of program contracts payable		8,256	12,627
Total current liabilities		13,145	17,554
LONG-TERM LIABILITIES:
Notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing, less current portion		22,837	24,594
Program contracts payable, less current portion		11,403	13,679
Other long-term liabilities		9,522	8,067
Total liabilities		$ 56,907	$ 63,894
[1]	Our consolidated total assets as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 include total assets of variable interest entities (VIEs) of $147.5 million and $152.4 million, respectively, which can only be used to settle the obligations of the VIEs. Our consolidated total liabilities as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 include total liabilities of the VIEs of $30.4 million and $35.6 million, respectively, for which the creditors of the VIEs have no recourse to us. See Note 1. Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMM27

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Recent Accounting Pronouncements (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Dec. 31, 2015
New Accounting Pronouncement, Early Adoption [Line Items]
Cumulative effect of classification change			$ (2,264)
Reclassification from net cash flows from operating activities	$ (209,658)	$ (180,247)
Reclassification to net cash flows from financing activities	$ 272,547	(43,457)
Additional Paid-In Capital
New Accounting Pronouncement, Early Adoption [Line Items]
Cumulative effect of classification change			(431)
Accumulated Deficit
New Accounting Pronouncement, Early Adoption [Line Items]
Cumulative effect of classification change			(1,833)
New Accounting Pronouncement, Early Adoption, Effect
New Accounting Pronouncement, Early Adoption [Line Items]
Reclassification from net cash flows from operating activities		2,200
Reclassification to net cash flows from financing activities		$ 2,200
New Accounting Pronouncement, Early Adoption, Effect | Additional Paid-In Capital
New Accounting Pronouncement, Early Adoption [Line Items]
Cumulative effect of classification change			(400)
New Accounting Pronouncement, Early Adoption, Effect | Accumulated Deficit
New Accounting Pronouncement, Early Adoption [Line Items]
Cumulative effect of classification change			$ 1,800

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMM28

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Income Taxes (Details) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2017USD ($)
Maximum | Forecast
Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]
Reduction on liability for unrecognized tax benefits (up to)	$ 1.3

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMM29

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Share Repurchase Program (Details) - USD ($)	1 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 20, 2014	Oct. 28, 1999
Equity, Class of Treasury Stock [Line Items]
Repurchase authorization				$ 150,000,000	$ 150,000,000
Shares repurchased (shares)		400,000
Shares repurchased		$ 11,247,000	$ 7,803,000
Remaining authorization amount		$ 94,300,000
Subsequent Event
Equity, Class of Treasury Stock [Line Items]
Shares repurchased (shares)	200,000
Shares repurchased	$ 8,000,000

ACQUISITIONS (Narrative) (Detai

ACQUISITIONS (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($)	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition related costs				$ 300,000
Net revenues		$ 27,500,000		35,100,000
Operating loss		9,700,000		11,100,000
Gain disposition of assets		11,000	$ 29,000	2,671,000	$ 51,000
Tennis Channel
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business combination purchase price	$ 350,000,000
Working capital adjustment	$ 6,500,000
Decrease to deferred tax assets		37,600,000
Decrease to goodwill		66,300,000
Increase to amortization (less than)				100,000
Goodwill deductible for tax purposes		0		$ 0
Tennis Channel | Definite-lived intangible assets
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Increase (decrease) to intangible assets		115,600,000
Tennis Channel | Indefinite-lived intangible assets
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Increase (decrease) to intangible assets		(11,600,000)
Tennis Channel | Customer relationships | Minimum
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Amortization period				10 years
Tennis Channel | Customer relationships | Maximum
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Amortization period				15 years
Tennis Channel | Other intangible assets | Minimum
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Amortization period				1 year
Tennis Channel | Other intangible assets | Maximum
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Amortization period				3 years
Television Station Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business combination purchase price				$ 72,000,000
Working capital adjustment		$ 200,000		200,000
Gain disposition of assets				$ 2,600,000

ACQUISITIONS - Fair Value of Ac

ACQUISITIONS - Fair Value of Acquired Assets and Liabilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Jun. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Allocated fair value of acquired assets and assumed liabilities
Goodwill	$ 2,017,382	$ 1,931,093
Tennis Channel
Allocated fair value of acquired assets and assumed liabilities
Cash	5,111
Accounts receivable	17,629
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	6,518
Property and equipment	5,964
Definite-lived intangible assets	227,096
Indefinite-lived intangible assets	24,900
Other assets	619
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	(7,414)
Capital leases	(115)
Deferred tax liability	(3,964)
Other long term liabilities	(1,669)
Fair value of identifiable net assets acquired	274,675
Goodwill	81,814
Total	$ 356,489

ACQUISITIONS - Fair Value Alloc

ACQUISITIONS - Fair Value Allocation of Assets and Goodwill (Details) - Tennis Channel $ in Thousands	Jun. 30, 2016USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Fair value of identifiable definite-lived intangible assets acquired	$ 227,096
Customer relationships
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Fair value of identifiable definite-lived intangible assets acquired	223,400
Other intangible assets
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Fair value of identifiable definite-lived intangible assets acquired	$ 3,696

ACQUISITIONS - Pro Forma Result

ACQUISITIONS - Pro Forma Results (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Pro Forma Information
Total revenues	$ 666,534	$ 583,081	$ 1,259,915	$ 1,107,363
Net Income	50,600	43,297	75,474	67,304
Net Income attributable to Sinclair Broadcast Group	$ 49,419	$ 42,685	$ 72,804	$ 66,138
Basic earnings per share attributable to Sinclair (USD per share)	$ 0.52	$ 0.45	$ 0.77	$ 0.69
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Sinclair (USD per share)	$ 0.52	$ 0.44	$ 0.76	$ 0.69

NOTES PAYABLE AND COMMERCIAL 34

NOTES PAYABLE AND COMMERCIAL BANK FINANCINGS - 5.875% Senior Notes, due 2026 (Details) - Senior Notes - Senior Unsecured 5.875% Notes - USD ($)	Mar. 15, 2021	Mar. 15, 2019	Mar. 23, 2016
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt issued			$ 350,000,000
Interest rate			5.875%
Percentage of the par value			100.00%
Deferred financing costs			$ 5,900,000
Forecast
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Percentage of the par value	100.00%	35.00%

NOTES PAYABLE AND COMMERCIAL 35

NOTES PAYABLE AND COMMERCIAL BANK FINANCINGS NOTES PAYABLE AND COMMERCIAL BANK FINANCINGS - Bank Credit Agreement (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Jul. 19, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding debt			$ 4,178,800,000
Bank Credit Agreement | Forecast
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Financing costs	$ 2,300,000
Financing costs to be expensed	$ 300,000
Bank Credit Agreement | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding balance			0	$ 0
Current borrowing capacity			$ 483,300,000
Subsequent Event | Bank Credit Agreement | Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving commitments		$ 485,200,000
Financing costs		2,600,000
Subsequent Event | Bank Credit Agreement | Term Loan | Term Loan A Extended to July 2021
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding debt		139,500,000
Subsequent Event | Bank Credit Agreement | Term Loan | Term Loan A Maturing April 2018
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding debt		$ 153,500,000

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015USD ($)	Jul. 29, 2016USD ($)	Apr. 15, 2014station
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Number of television stations with attributable interest (station) | station						1
Percentage of ad time to be considered an owner						15.00%
Net revenue	$ 666,534	$ 554,167	$ 1,245,423	$ 1,058,942
Period subject to ongoing compliance monitoring by the FCC			36 months
FCC Consent Decree Settlement | Subsequent Event
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Subject payment amount to the United States Treasury					$ 9,500
Joint Sales Agreements
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Net revenue	$ 14,300	$ 11,800	$ 26,400	$ 22,700

EARNINGS PER SHARE (Details)

EARNINGS PER SHARE (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Income (Numerator)
Net Income	$ 50,600	$ 46,399	$ 76,229	$ 71,235
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1,181)	(612)	(2,670)	(1,166)
Numerator for diluted earnings per common share available to common shareholders	$ 49,419	$ 45,787	$ 73,559	$ 70,069
Shares (Denominator)
Weighted-average common shares outstanding (shares)	95,026,000	95,307,000	94,922,000	95,219,000
Dilutive effect of stock-settled appreciation rights, restricted stock awards and outstanding stock options (shares)	908,000	743,000	897,000	692,000
Weighted-average common and common equivalent shares outstanding (shares)	95,934,000	96,050,000	95,819,000	95,911,000
Additional Disclosures
Potentially antidilutive dilutive securities excluded from calculation of diluted earnings per share (shares)	525,000	0	525,000	0

RELATED PERSON TRANSACTIONS (De

RELATED PERSON TRANSACTIONS (Details)	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2016USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2016USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016USD ($)leasereal_estate_venturerestaurant	Jun. 30, 2015USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016USD ($)leasereal_estate_venturestationrestaurantrenewal	Jun. 30, 2015USD ($)
Related person transactions
Net revenue			$ 666,534,000	$ 554,167,000	$ 1,245,423,000	$ 1,058,942,000
Entities owned by the controlling shareholders | Lease Services
Related person transactions
Lease payments made to entities			1,300,000	1,200,000	2,500,000	2,600,000
Controlling shareholders | Charter Aircraft | Maximum
Related person transactions
Aircraft expenses			$ 300,000	300,000	$ 700,000	600,000
Affiliated Entity | Cunningham
Related person transactions
Agreement renewal period		1 year
Right to acquire capital stock			100.00%		100.00%
Remaining purchase price			$ 53,600,000		$ 53,600,000
Net revenue			28,800,000	24,100,000	54,400,000	45,900,000
Related party promissory note		$ 19,500,000
Loan receivable, interest rate		5.00%
Master control service, contract term	3 years
Proceeds from sale of master control equipment	$ 700,000
Annual revenue from master control services	$ 200,000
Affiliated Entity | Lease Services | Atlantic Automotive Corporation
Related person transactions
Annual rent			200,000	300,000	500,000	600,000
Affiliated Entity | LMA | Cunningham
Related person transactions
Lease payments made to entities			$ 2,300,000	2,100,000	$ 4,500,000	4,400,000
Number of stations to which programming, sales and managerial services were provided by the entity (station) | station					6
Number of additional renewal terms | renewal					2
Agreement renewal period					5 years
Affiliated Entity | LMA | Minimum | Cunningham
Related person transactions
Percentage of net broadcast revenue used to determine annual LMA fees required to be paid			3.00%		3.00%
Amount used to determine annual LMA fees required to be paid			$ 4,700,000		$ 4,700,000
Annual increase in aggregate purchase price			6.00%		6.00%
Affiliated Entity | Advertising time | Maximum | Atlantic Automotive Corporation
Related person transactions
Amount received			$ 200,000	100,000	$ 200,000	200,000
Affiliated Entity | Vehicle or Vehicle Related Services | Maximum | Atlantic Automotive Corporation
Related person transactions
Amount received			0	0	$ 0	0
Cunningham license related assets | Cunningham
Related person transactions
Agreement renewal period					8 years
Net revenue			2,100,000	1,900,000	$ 4,100,000	3,700,000
Amount received			1,500,000	1,000,000	2,800,000	2,200,000
President and Chief Executive Officer | Lease Services
Related person transactions
Payments for services (less than)			$ 100,000	100,000	$ 100,000	100,000
President and Chief Executive Officer | Lease Services | Real estate ventures in Baltimore, MD
Related person transactions
Number of restaurants owned by a related party | restaurant			3		3
Number of real estate ventures | real_estate_venture			1		1
Number of leases | lease			1		1
President and Chief Executive Officer | Lease Services | Real estate ventures in Towson, MD
Related person transactions
Annual rent			$ 100,000	100,000	$ 200,000	100,000
President and Chief Executive Officer | Lease Services | Maximum | Real estate ventures in Baltimore, MD
Related person transactions
Amount received			$ 200,000	$ 200,000	$ 300,000	$ 300,000

SEGMENT DATA (Narrative) (Detai

SEGMENT DATA (Narrative) (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016USD ($)market	Jun. 30, 2015USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016USD ($)market	Jun. 30, 2015USD ($)
Segment data
Number of markets | market	81		81
Intercompany loans | $	$ 226.4	$ 225.9	$ 226.4	$ 225.9
Intercompany interest expense | $	$ 6.1	$ 5.6	$ 12.1	$ 10.8
Operating segments | Broadcast
Segment data
Number of markets | market	81		81

SEGMENT DATA (Details)

SEGMENT DATA (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
		Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Dec. 31, 2015
Segment data
Revenue		$ 666,534	$ 554,167	$ 1,245,423	$ 1,058,942
Depreciation of property and equipment		24,409	25,273	48,444	50,462
Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets and other assets		45,625	39,445	89,390	79,425
Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments		30,821	29,782	64,281	60,173
General and administrative overhead expenses		14,279	14,183	35,620	30,221
Research and development expenses		1,209	4,237	2,310	6,752
Operating income (loss)		129,074	114,340	215,413	198,887
Interest expense		53,916	47,664	103,331	94,312
Income from equity and cost method investments		943	2,007	1,366	5,153
Assets	[1]	5,779,677		5,779,677		$ 5,432,315
Operating segments | Broadcast
Segment data
Revenue		608,169	532,362	1,155,002	1,017,414
Depreciation of property and equipment		22,526	24,363	45,274	48,539
Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets and other assets		38,551	37,232	78,321	75,123
Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments		30,821	29,782	64,281	60,173
General and administrative overhead expenses		12,995	11,332	33,431	26,259
Research and development expenses		0	0	0	0
Operating income (loss)		145,400	122,236	243,451	214,105
Interest expense		1,411	0	2,893	0
Income from equity and cost method investments		0	0	0	0
Assets		4,832,211		4,832,211
Operating segments | Other
Segment data
Revenue		58,365	21,805	90,421	41,528
Depreciation of property and equipment		1,617	631	2,638	1,365
Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets and other assets		7,074	2,213	11,069	4,302
Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments		0	0	0	0
General and administrative overhead expenses		283	1,265	839	1,524
Research and development expenses		1,209	4,237	2,310	6,752
Operating income (loss)		(15,059)	(6,481)	(26,156)	(12,845)
Interest expense		1,555	1,161	3,031	2,236
Income from equity and cost method investments		943	2,007	1,366	5,153
Assets		825,829		825,829
Corporate
Segment data
Revenue		0	0	0	0
Depreciation of property and equipment		266	279	532	558
Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets and other assets		0	0	0	0
Amortization of program contract costs and net realizable value adjustments		0	0	0	0
General and administrative overhead expenses		1,001	1,586	1,350	2,438
Research and development expenses		0	0	0	0
Operating income (loss)		(1,267)	(1,415)	(1,882)	(2,373)
Interest expense		50,950	46,503	97,407	92,076
Income from equity and cost method investments		0	$ 0	0	$ 0
Assets		$ 121,637		$ 121,637
[1]	Our consolidated total assets as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 include total assets of variable interest entities (VIEs) of $147.5 million and $152.4 million, respectively, which can only be used to settle the obligations of the VIEs. Our consolidated total liabilities as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 include total liabilities of the VIEs of $30.4 million and $35.6 million, respectively, for which the creditors of the VIEs have no recourse to us. See Note 1. Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (Detail

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Jun. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
6.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Interest rate	6.375%	6.375%
6.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2022
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Interest rate	6.125%	6.125%
5.875% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2026
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Interest rate	5.875%
5.625% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2024
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Interest rate	5.625%	5.625%
5.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Interest rate	5.375%	5.375%
Level 2 | Carrying Value | 6.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	$ 350,000	$ 350,000
Level 2 | Carrying Value | 6.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2022
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	500,000	500,000
Level 2 | Carrying Value | 5.875% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2026
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	350,000	0
Level 2 | Carrying Value | 5.625% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2024
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	550,000	550,000
Level 2 | Carrying Value | 5.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	600,000	600,000
Level 2 | Carrying Value | Term Loan A
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	292,948	313,620
Level 2 | Carrying Value | Term Loan B
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	1,369,414	1,376,007
Level 2 | Carrying Value | Debt of variable interest entities
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	24,941	26,682
Level 2 | Carrying Value | Debt of other operating divisions
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	129,151	120,969
Level 2 | Fair Value | 6.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	370,125	367,325
Level 2 | Fair Value | 6.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2022
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	520,000	512,500
Level 2 | Fair Value | 5.875% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2026
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	357,875	0
Level 2 | Fair Value | 5.625% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2024
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	563,750	539,000
Level 2 | Fair Value | 5.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	615,600	605,658
Level 2 | Fair Value | Term Loan A
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	290,751	308,916
Level 2 | Fair Value | Term Loan B
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	1,365,205	1,365,461
Level 2 | Fair Value | Debt of variable interest entities
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	24,941	26,682
Level 2 | Fair Value | Debt of other operating divisions
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:
Debt fair value disclosure	$ 129,151	$ 120,969

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINAN42

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Jun. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt	$ 4,178.8
5.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.375%	5.375%
6.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2022
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	6.125%	6.125%
6.375% Senior Notes due 2021
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	6.375%	6.375%
5.875% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2026
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.875%
Sinclair Television Group, Inc.
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Amount of debt guaranteed by parent	$ 4,047.2
Sinclair Television Group, Inc. | 5.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.375%
Sinclair Television Group, Inc. | 5.625% Senior Unsecured Notes, due 2024
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.625%
Sinclair Television Group, Inc. | 6.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2022
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	6.125%
Sinclair Television Group, Inc. | 6.375% Senior Notes due 2021
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	6.375%
Sinclair Television Group, Inc. | 5.875% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2026
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.875%
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Amount of debt guaranteed by parent	$ 3,996.7
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. | 5.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.375%
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. | 5.625% Senior Unsecured Notes, due 2024
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.625%
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. | 6.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2022
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	6.125%
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. | 6.375% Senior Notes due 2021
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	6.375%
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. | 5.875% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2026
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.875%

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINAN43

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Balance Sheet (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Jun. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET
Cash		$ 103,727	$ 149,972	$ 64,579	$ 17,682
Accounts receivable		489,884	424,608
Other current assets		84,408	127,183
Total current assets		678,019	701,763
Property and equipment, net		727,806	717,137
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries		0	0
Goodwill		2,017,382	1,931,093
Indefinite-lived intangible assets		157,725	132,465
Definite-lived intangible assets		1,975,786	1,751,570
Other long-term assets		222,959	198,287
Total assets	[1]	5,779,677	5,432,315
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		271,926	251,313
Current portion of long-term debt		175,044	164,184
Current portion of affiliate long-term debt		3,501	3,166
Other current liabilities		81,269	116,340
Total current liabilities		531,740	535,003
Long-term debt		3,984,262	3,669,160
Affiliate long-term debt		15,953	17,850
Other liabilities		704,828	710,624
Total liabilities	[1]	5,236,783	4,932,637
Total Sinclair Broadcast Group equity (deficit)		570,512	525,810
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries		(27,618)	(26,132)
Total liabilities and equity		5,779,677	5,432,315
Reportable legal entities | Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET
Cash		0	0	0	0
Accounts receivable		0	0
Other current assets		219	3,648
Total current assets		219	3,648
Property and equipment, net		2,352	2,884
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries		543,948	497,262
Goodwill		0	0
Indefinite-lived intangible assets		0	0
Definite-lived intangible assets		0	0
Other long-term assets		50,901	52,128
Total assets		597,420	555,922
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		100	104
Current portion of long-term debt		0	0
Current portion of affiliate long-term debt		1,752	1,651
Other current liabilities		0	0
Total current liabilities		1,852	1,755
Long-term debt		0	0
Affiliate long-term debt		948	1,857
Other liabilities		24,108	26,500
Total liabilities		26,908	30,112
Total Sinclair Broadcast Group equity (deficit)		570,512	525,810
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries		0	0
Total liabilities and equity		597,420	555,922
Reportable legal entities | Sinclair Television Group, Inc.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET
Cash		72,237	115,771	49,400	3,394
Accounts receivable		0	1,775
Other current assets		6,292	5,172
Total current assets		78,529	122,718
Property and equipment, net		19,376	20,336
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries		3,772,032	3,430,434
Goodwill		0	0
Indefinite-lived intangible assets		0	0
Definite-lived intangible assets		0	0
Other long-term assets		742,864	673,915
Total assets		4,612,801	4,247,403
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		50,101	49,428
Current portion of long-term debt		59,938	57,640
Current portion of affiliate long-term debt		0	0
Other current liabilities		0	0
Total current liabilities		110,039	107,068
Long-term debt		3,912,120	3,594,218
Affiliate long-term debt		0	0
Other liabilities		30,953	28,866
Total liabilities		4,053,112	3,730,152
Total Sinclair Broadcast Group equity (deficit)		559,689	517,251
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries		0	0
Total liabilities and equity		4,612,801	4,247,403
Reportable legal entities | Guarantor Subsidiaries and KDSM, LLC
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET
Cash		6,799	235	1,068	1,749
Accounts receivable		456,880	390,142
Other current assets		62,550	99,118
Total current assets		526,229	489,495
Property and equipment, net		572,156	559,042
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries		4,179	4,179
Goodwill		2,013,103	1,926,814
Indefinite-lived intangible assets		142,016	114,841
Definite-lived intangible assets		1,812,739	1,602,454
Other long-term assets		104,553	110,507
Total assets		5,174,975	4,807,332
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		196,045	179,156
Current portion of long-term debt		1,751	1,611
Current portion of affiliate long-term debt		1,532	1,311
Other current liabilities		72,960	103,627
Total current liabilities		272,288	285,705
Long-term debt		31,977	32,743
Affiliate long-term debt		13,364	14,240
Other liabilities		1,101,937	1,060,211
Total liabilities		1,419,566	1,392,899
Total Sinclair Broadcast Group equity (deficit)		3,755,409	3,414,433
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries		0	0
Total liabilities and equity		5,174,975	4,807,332
Reportable legal entities | Non- Guarantor Subsidiaries
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET
Cash		24,691	33,966	14,111	12,539
Accounts receivable		34,251	33,949
Other current assets		18,106	23,278
Total current assets		77,048	91,193
Property and equipment, net		142,792	143,667
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries		0	0
Goodwill		4,279	4,279
Indefinite-lived intangible assets		15,709	17,624
Definite-lived intangible assets		224,729	206,975
Other long-term assets		150,306	140,910
Total assets		614,863	604,648
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		29,053	27,462
Current portion of long-term debt		113,355	106,358
Current portion of affiliate long-term debt		2,137	456
Other current liabilities		8,309	12,713
Total current liabilities		152,854	146,989
Long-term debt		40,165	42,199
Affiliate long-term debt		378,060	366,042
Other liabilities		174,008	171,102
Total liabilities		745,087	726,332
Total Sinclair Broadcast Group equity (deficit)		(98,249)	(91,703)
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries		(31,975)	(29,981)
Total liabilities and equity		614,863	604,648
Eliminations
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING BALANCE SHEET
Cash		0	0	$ 0	$ 0
Accounts receivable		(1,247)	(1,258)
Other current assets		(2,759)	(4,033)
Total current assets		(4,006)	(5,291)
Property and equipment, net		(8,870)	(8,792)
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries		(4,320,159)	(3,931,875)
Goodwill		0	0
Indefinite-lived intangible assets		0	0
Definite-lived intangible assets		(61,682)	(57,859)
Other long-term assets		(825,665)	(779,173)
Total assets		(5,220,382)	(4,782,990)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		(3,373)	(4,837)
Current portion of long-term debt		0	(1,425)
Current portion of affiliate long-term debt		(1,920)	(252)
Other current liabilities		0	0
Total current liabilities		(5,293)	(6,514)
Long-term debt		0	0
Affiliate long-term debt		(376,419)	(364,289)
Other liabilities		(626,178)	(576,055)
Total liabilities		(1,007,890)	(946,858)
Total Sinclair Broadcast Group equity (deficit)		(4,216,849)	(3,839,981)
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries		4,357	3,849
Total liabilities and equity		$ (5,220,382)	$ (4,782,990)
[1]	Our consolidated total assets as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 include total assets of variable interest entities (VIEs) of $147.5 million and $152.4 million, respectively, which can only be used to settle the obligations of the VIEs. Our consolidated total liabilities as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 include total liabilities of the VIEs of $30.4 million and $35.6 million, respectively, for which the creditors of the VIEs have no recourse to us. See Note 1. Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINAN44

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
Net revenue	$ 666,534	$ 554,167	$ 1,245,423	$ 1,058,942
Media production expenses	243,620	181,810	459,497	353,381
Selling, general and administrative	142,767	117,408	279,117	235,687
Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses	151,073	140,609	291,396	270,987
Total operating expenses	537,460	439,827	1,030,010	860,055
Operating income	129,074	114,340	215,413	198,887
Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries	0	0	0	0
Interest expense	(53,916)	(47,664)	(103,331)	(94,312)
Other income (expense)	2,047	3,057	2,932	6,421
Total other expense, net	(51,869)	(44,607)	(100,399)	(87,891)
Income tax benefit (provision)	(26,605)	(23,334)	(38,785)	(39,761)
NET INCOME	50,600	46,399	76,229	71,235
Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests	(1,181)	(612)	(2,670)	(1,166)
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP	49,419	45,787	73,559	70,069
Comprehensive income	50,600	46,483	76,229	71,403
Reportable legal entities | Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
Net revenue	0	0	0	0
Media production expenses	0	0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative	1,001	1,457	2,003	2,501
Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses	266	266	532	533
Total operating expenses	1,267	1,723	2,535	3,034
Operating income	(1,267)	(1,723)	(2,535)	(3,034)
Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries	49,136	46,369	73,424	70,693
Interest expense	(41)	(106)	(136)	(207)
Other income (expense)	1,087	944	2,230	2,294
Total other expense, net	50,182	47,207	75,518	72,780
Income tax benefit (provision)	504	303	576	323
NET INCOME	49,419	45,787	73,559	70,069
Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests	0	0	0	0
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP	49,419	45,787	73,559	70,069
Comprehensive income	49,419	46,483	73,559	71,403
Reportable legal entities | Sinclair Television Group, Inc.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
Net revenue	0	0	0	0
Media production expenses	0	0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative	14,121	11,429	36,219	26,212
Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses	1,219	809	2,410	1,584
Total operating expenses	15,340	12,238	38,629	27,796
Operating income	(15,340)	(12,238)	(38,629)	(27,796)
Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries	100,678	85,483	175,533	149,948
Interest expense	(50,908)	(44,969)	(97,271)	(88,842)
Other income (expense)	148	444	267	291
Total other expense, net	49,918	40,958	78,529	61,397
Income tax benefit (provision)	18,034	19,584	41,137	40,199
NET INCOME	52,612	48,304	81,037	73,800
Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests	0	0	0	0
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP	52,612	48,304	81,037	73,800
Comprehensive income	52,612	48,315	81,037	73,817
Reportable legal entities | Guarantor Subsidiaries and KDSM, LLC
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
Net revenue	627,517	522,405	1,172,629	999,076
Media production expenses	235,138	180,033	444,864	349,727
Selling, general and administrative	125,331	100,579	236,442	199,927
Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses	116,970	109,201	225,445	211,560
Total operating expenses	477,439	389,813	906,751	761,214
Operating income	150,078	132,592	265,878	237,862
Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries	69	(50)	119	(100)
Interest expense	(1,098)	(1,165)	(2,299)	(2,341)
Other income (expense)	622	203	609	266
Total other expense, net	(407)	(1,012)	(1,571)	(2,175)
Income tax benefit (provision)	(47,722)	(44,899)	(85,902)	(83,277)
NET INCOME	101,949	86,681	178,405	152,410
Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests	0	0	0	0
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP	101,949	86,681	178,405	152,410
Comprehensive income	101,949	86,756	178,405	152,561
Reportable legal entities | Non- Guarantor Subsidiaries
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
Net revenue	62,037	52,908	114,287	99,912
Media production expenses	30,440	21,272	54,821	41,677
Selling, general and administrative	2,326	4,136	4,487	7,152
Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses	33,134	30,960	63,990	58,278
Total operating expenses	65,900	56,368	123,298	107,107
Operating income	(3,863)	(3,460)	(9,011)	(7,195)
Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries	0	0	0	0
Interest expense	(8,107)	(7,470)	(16,003)	(14,176)
Other income (expense)	190	1,466	(174)	3,570
Total other expense, net	(7,917)	(6,004)	(16,177)	(10,606)
Income tax benefit (provision)	2,579	1,678	5,404	2,994
NET INCOME	(9,201)	(7,786)	(19,784)	(14,807)
Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests	(1,262)	(646)	(2,161)	(1,200)
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP	(10,463)	(8,432)	(21,945)	(16,007)
Comprehensive income	(9,201)	(7,786)	(19,784)	(14,807)
Eliminations
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
Net revenue	(23,020)	(21,146)	(41,493)	(40,046)
Media production expenses	(21,958)	(19,495)	(40,188)	(38,023)
Selling, general and administrative	(12)	(193)	(34)	(105)
Depreciation, amortization and other operating expenses	(516)	(627)	(981)	(968)
Total operating expenses	(22,486)	(20,315)	(41,203)	(39,096)
Operating income	(534)	(831)	(290)	(950)
Equity in earnings of consolidated subsidiaries	(149,883)	(131,802)	(249,076)	(220,541)
Interest expense	6,238	6,046	12,378	11,254
Other income (expense)	0	0	0	0
Total other expense, net	(143,645)	(125,756)	(236,698)	(209,287)
Income tax benefit (provision)	0	0	0	0
NET INCOME	(144,179)	(126,587)	(236,988)	(210,237)
Net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests	81	34	(509)	34
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP	(144,098)	(126,553)	(237,497)	(210,203)
Comprehensive income	$ (144,179)	$ (127,285)	$ (236,988)	$ (211,571)

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINAN45

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Statement of Cash Flows (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
NET CASH FLOWS FROM(USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES	$ 209,658	$ 180,247
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Acquisition of property and equipment	(49,786)	(47,062)
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired	(423,104)	0
Purchase of alarm monitoring contracts	(21,616)	(16,673)
Investments in equity and cost method investees	(21,843)	(37,809)
Loans to affiliates	(19,500)	0
Other, net	7,399	11,651
Net cash flows used in investing activities	(528,450)	(89,893)
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from notes payable and commercial bank financing	607,555	364,853
Repayments of notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases	(279,575)	(360,480)
Dividends paid on Class A and Class B Common Stock	(32,781)	(31,464)
Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables	0
Repurchase of outstanding Class A Common Stock	(11,247)	(7,803)
Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables		0
Other, net	(11,405)	(8,563)
Net cash flows from (used in) financing activities	272,547	(43,457)
NET (DECREASE) INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS	(46,245)	46,897
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period	149,972	17,682
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period	103,727	64,579
Reportable legal entities | Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
NET CASH FLOWS FROM(USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES	2,296	(142)
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Acquisition of property and equipment	0	0
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired	0
Purchase of alarm monitoring contracts	0	0
Investments in equity and cost method investees	0	0
Loans to affiliates	0
Other, net	1,197	3,486
Net cash flows used in investing activities	1,197	3,486
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from notes payable and commercial bank financing	0	0
Repayments of notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases	0	(312)
Dividends paid on Class A and Class B Common Stock	(32,781)	(31,464)
Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables	42,586
Repurchase of outstanding Class A Common Stock	(11,247)	(7,803)
Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables		37,036
Other, net	(2,051)	(801)
Net cash flows from (used in) financing activities	(3,493)	(3,344)
NET (DECREASE) INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS	0	0
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period	0	0
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period	0	0
Reportable legal entities | Sinclair Television Group, Inc.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
NET CASH FLOWS FROM(USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES	(81,821)	(70,337)
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Acquisition of property and equipment	(1,871)	(5,852)
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired	0
Purchase of alarm monitoring contracts	0	0
Investments in equity and cost method investees	(10,827)	(4,401)
Loans to affiliates	(19,500)
Other, net	3,725	(961)
Net cash flows used in investing activities	(28,473)	(11,214)
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from notes payable and commercial bank financing	595,000	349,562
Repayments of notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases	(272,672)	(357,328)
Dividends paid on Class A and Class B Common Stock	0	0
Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables	(249,887)
Repurchase of outstanding Class A Common Stock	0	0
Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables		138,814
Other, net	(5,681)	(3,491)
Net cash flows from (used in) financing activities	66,760	127,557
NET (DECREASE) INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS	(43,534)	46,006
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period	115,771	3,394
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period	72,237	49,400
Reportable legal entities | Guarantor Subsidiaries and KDSM, LLC
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
NET CASH FLOWS FROM(USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES	282,530	265,762
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Acquisition of property and equipment	(45,155)	(40,875)
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired	(412,729)
Purchase of alarm monitoring contracts	0	0
Investments in equity and cost method investees	0	(33)
Loans to affiliates	0
Other, net	58	4,788
Net cash flows used in investing activities	(457,826)	(36,120)
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from notes payable and commercial bank financing	0	0
Repayments of notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases	(719)	(611)
Dividends paid on Class A and Class B Common Stock	0	0
Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables	181,829
Repurchase of outstanding Class A Common Stock	0	0
Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables		(230,262)
Other, net	750	550
Net cash flows from (used in) financing activities	181,860	(230,323)
NET (DECREASE) INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS	6,564	(681)
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period	235	1,749
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period	6,799	1,068
Reportable legal entities | Non- Guarantor Subsidiaries
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
NET CASH FLOWS FROM(USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES	(8,483)	(22,433)
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Acquisition of property and equipment	(3,206)	(1,097)
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired	(10,375)
Purchase of alarm monitoring contracts	(21,616)	(16,673)
Investments in equity and cost method investees	(11,016)	(33,375)
Loans to affiliates	0
Other, net	2,419	4,338
Net cash flows used in investing activities	(43,794)	(46,807)
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from notes payable and commercial bank financing	12,555	15,291
Repayments of notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases	(6,184)	(2,229)
Dividends paid on Class A and Class B Common Stock	0	0
Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables	41,172
Repurchase of outstanding Class A Common Stock	0	0
Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables		62,571
Other, net	(4,541)	(4,821)
Net cash flows from (used in) financing activities	43,002	70,812
NET (DECREASE) INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS	(9,275)	1,572
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period	33,966	12,539
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period	24,691	14,111
Eliminations
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
NET CASH FLOWS FROM(USED IN) OPERATING ACTIVITIES	15,136	7,397
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Acquisition of property and equipment	446	762
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired	0
Purchase of alarm monitoring contracts	0	0
Investments in equity and cost method investees	0	0
Loans to affiliates	0
Other, net	0	0
Net cash flows used in investing activities	446	762
CASH FLOWS FROM (USED IN) FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from notes payable and commercial bank financing	0	0
Repayments of notes payable, commercial bank financing and capital leases	0	0
Dividends paid on Class A and Class B Common Stock	0	0
Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables	(15,700)
Repurchase of outstanding Class A Common Stock	0	0
Increase (decrease) in intercompany payables		(8,159)
Other, net	118	0
Net cash flows from (used in) financing activities	(15,582)	(8,159)
NET (DECREASE) INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS	0	0
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period	0	0
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period	$ 0	$ 0