Sinclair And The WB Sign 10-Year Affiliation Agreement For Nine Stations; Five Major Market Stations Are Currently Affiliated With UPN.

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 14, 1997--In a far-reaching agreement that promises to have a profound effect on the broadcast network television landscape, five major market stations, which are owned or programmed by Sinclair Broadcast Group, will become primary affiliates of The WB Television Network for 10 years, beginning Jan. 16, 1998.

Stations joining The WB are: WPTT (Pittsburgh), WNUV (Baltimore), WSTR (Cincinnati), KRRT (San Antonio) and KOCB (Oklahoma City), it was announced Monday by David Smith, president, Sinclair Broadcast Group; Barry Baker, president of River City Broadcasting L.P. (who is presently a consultant to and CEO-designate of Sinclair Communications Inc.); Eddie Edwards, president, Glencairn Ltd.; The WB Chief Executive Jamie Kellner; and Barry Meyer, executive vice president & chief operating officer, Warner Bros. Inc.

This nine-station agreement makes Sinclair The WB's biggest non-equity station group. Under the terms of the new agreement, the three current Sinclair stations that are affiliates of The WB in Milwaukee, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa have extended their affiliation agreements with The WB to 2008. In addition, Sinclair's LMA station, WFBC, in Greenville, S.C., will become an affiliate of The WB beginning Nov. 1, 1999 (to 2008).

The addition of the Sinclair stations to The WB affiliate line-up, as calculated by Nielsen, will increase The WB's coverage to 87 percent of U.S. households, while increasing its primary broadcast affiliate coverage to 72 percent. According to Nielsen, UPN's national primary coverage will be reduced to 72 percent of U.S. households, with an additional 16 percent of syndicated coverage from their out-of-pattern, secondary affiliates.

"The WB is well-positioned for long-term success," said Smith. "The WB management team clearly saw the tremendous value in our distribution system, which will help them compete on a more level playing field. At the same time, we recognize that The WB's performance in such key areas as programming, advertiser acceptance, branding, efficient promotion and overall strategy has been exceptional."

"Sinclair's long-term goal is to be aligned with successful, seven-day-a-week, fully integrated and branded networks," said Baker. "The decision to sign a long-term agreement with The WB was based on a number of key elements -- its willingness to fully compensate Sinclair for its distribution system, its Warner Bros. lineage is stellar, its primetime and kids' programming is terrific, its promotion and marketing is outstanding, its management team is excellent and its strategy offers the promise of major network status in the years ahead."

"New networks need broadcasters like David and Barry to build effective and efficient distribution and I couldn't be more pleased and excited to expand our working relationship with Sinclair for 10 more years," said Kellner. "Sinclair's valuable stations in these markets are irreplaceable, and we made it a high priority to get them to switch their UPN affiliations to The WB as soon as their current affiliation agreements expired. As we have said over and over, The WB's focus has been to build the creative side of our business first and then use that edge to attract new affiliates. I have always been confident that distribution would be available when the creative side of our network had emerged, and this agreement confirms the progress we have made thus far. By adding Sinclair to our existing affiliate base, it dramatically improves the odds for the success of this network, which benefits our invaluable partner Tribune as well as all affiliates of The WB. Combining this agreement with the launch of The WeB and the growth of ACME Television, will now assure our longevity and ability to compete with the other networks on an increasingly more level playing field."

"The agreement is a win-win for both Sinclair and The WB," said Meyer. "These are strong stations in key markets where there is no available or acceptable broadcast alternative. Due to the significant and unparalleled contribution to the overall coverage from these Sinclair stations, under the terms of the agreement, we have agreed to make a one-time-only exception (to our business plan) and will pay Sinclair for the utilization of their distribution systems. The addition of these stations will enhance the national ratings for our programming, which will translate into an increase in our revenue base. We fully expect that this increased revenue will far exceed any payment we make to Sinclair. In addition, Sinclair has agreed to our affiliation terms which include an obligation to pay The WB a percentage of the incremental profitability generated from the broadcasting of The WB primetime programs."

"I am delighted to partner with The WB," said Edwards, who is the founder of the Black Broadcasters' Alliance. "My local marketing agreements with Sinclair have enabled me to build one of the largest minority-owned broadcasting companies in the United States, to produce local programs (such as `Eddie's Digest') that address issues of particular importance to the African-American community, and to grow an entire menu of programming on my LMA's in concert with the public interest. The WB affiliates will further enhance our position in our local markets and in the industry."

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. is one of the nation's largest broadcast groups, owning and/or providing programming services to 29 television stations in 21 separate markets, and owning, proving sales and programming services to, or having options to acquire, 34 radio stations in 8 separate markets. The television group reaches approximately 15 percent of U.S. television households and includes affiliations with ABC, CBS, Fox, UPN and The WB. The radio group is one of the 20 largest groups in the United States.

WSTR in Cincinnati and KOCB in Oklahoma City are owned by Sinclair. WPTT, WNUV and KRRT are programmed by Sinclair under local management agreements with Glencairn Ltd. The UPN affiliation agreement with each of these five stations will expire Jan. 15, 1998. WFBC is programmed by Sinclair under an LMA with River City Broadcasting.

The WB Television Network is Warner Bros.' national, in-pattern network that debuted on Jan. 11, 1995. During the 1997-98 season The WB will add Tuesday nights to its primetime schedule for a total of nine primetime hours in addition to its expanded 19 hours of children's programming in the fall, for a total of 28 hours of original programming per week. The WB is committed to programming to the family in the first hour of primetime each night, "creating a safe haven where kids, teens and their parents can enjoy watching television together."

CONTACT: The WB, Burbank

Brad Turell, 818/977-3627

or

Warner Bros., Burbank

Barbara Brogliatti, 818/954-7667