Big day for Sinclair on the sports front. First of all, the company’s American Sports Network pinned down a pair of deals to beef up content for the platform. ASN inked a sublicense agreement with ESPN to carry men’s basketball games from the AAC beginning with the new season, with up to 10 games showcased on Sinclair broadcast stations as well as on other syndicated platforms, both broadcast and cable. The platform also added Hockey East games to its lineup via a two-year deal that will see 14 contests, including nine conference match ups, the Women’s Hockey East championship game and one men’s playoff game get the spotlight.
Meanwhile, sources confirm a WSJ report that Sinclair has been in talks to pick up Tennis Channel. The report states that the ownership group was looking for $500 million to take the channel, which is now serving up over 90% of tennis content throughout the country via a battery of rights deals.