Sinclair Broadcast Group owns or operates local TV stations in around 89 U.S. television markets, covering major cities like Washington, D.C., Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Nashville, plus many smaller markets such as Dayton, OH and Ottumwa, IA / Kirksville, MO.

What “markets” means here

In TV, a “market” refers to a Designated Market Area (DMA) — a region defined by Nielsen where the same group of stations serves most homes. Sinclair owns or controls stations in about 89 of these DMAs, meaning their local news and programming reach viewers across nearly all of the top 100 U.S. TV markets.

Those stations are mostly affiliated with major networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CW, MyNetworkTV, and some independent stations.

How Sinclair “owns” stations

Sinclair doesn’t always own all those stations under its own name; many are held by related companies (like Cunningham Broadcasting, Deerfield Media, and Howard Stirk Holdings) and operated by Sinclair through local marketing agreements (LMAs) or shared services agreements (SSAs).

So, when people say “Sinclair owns” a market, they usually mean Sinclair effectively controls the station — even if another company is the legal owner on paper.

Big-market stations Sinclair owns/operates

Sinclair has stations in many of the largest TV markets in the U.S., including:

  • Washington, D.C.–Hagerstown, MD (DMA #9)
    Stations like WJLA-TV (ABC) and WDCA (MyNetworkTV).
  • Seattle–Tacoma, WA (DMA #13)
    Includes stations in the Pacific Northwest hub.
  • Salt Lake City, UT (DMA #28)
    Sinclair operates KTVX (ABC) and KUCW (CW) off the same duopoly.
  • Nashville, TN (DMA #26)
    Owns WKRN-TV (ABC), a major ABC affiliate in the region.
  • Hartford–New Haven, CT (DMA #32)
    Owns WTIC-TV (ABC) and WTOC (The CW) in the Connecticut market.
  • Birmingham, AL (DMA #45)
    Owns WTTO (CW) and WGWW (MyNetworkTV), as part of a larger Birmingham cluster.
  • Richmond, VA (DMA #56)
    Owns WRIC-TV (ABC) in the state capital.
  • Dayton, OH (DMA #64)
    Owns WKEF (ABC) and WRGT-TV (Fox) in a “Big Four” duopoly.

They also have significant presence in markets like Harrisburg, PA; Grand Rapids, MI; Knoxville, TN; and Albany, NY through ABC and other network affiliates.

Midsize and smaller markets

Beyond the big cities, Sinclair owns or operates stations in many midsize and smaller DMAs:

  • Greenville–Spartanburg, SC–Asheville, NC (DMA #36)
  • Mobile, AL–Pensacola, FL (DMA #57)
  • Knoxville, TN (DMA #60)
  • And smaller markets ranging down to places like Ottumwa, IA / Kirksville, MO and Steubenville, OH.

In total, Sinclair’s network includes about 190–200 stations across almost 90 markets, making it the largest owner of local TV stations in the U.S. by number of stations.

Why this matters

Because Sinclair uses “must-run” segments and shared editorials across many of its stations, critics argue that its large footprint lets it push a consistent editorial tone across dozens of local markets — turning what look like independent local newsrooms into a more centralized, top‑down broadcast system.

So, when someone asks “What markets does Sinclair own?”, the short answer is: roughly 89 U.S. TV markets, from the biggest cities to small towns, mainly through ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox affiliates.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.