Sinclair Broadcast Group is the largest owner of television stations in the United States, currently owning or operating a total of 173 stations across the country (233 after all currently proposed sales are approved) in nearly 80 markets, ranging from markets as large as Washington, D.C. to as small as Steubenville, Ohio. Many stations are owned outright by the company, but many others are affiliated through other companies through a local marketing agreement, a concept Sinclair pioneered in Pittsburgh in 1991 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) forbid duopolies. (The stations involved in the initial deal, WPGH-TV and WPTT — now WPNT — are now both owned by Sinclair outright.) Sinclair has done this with various companies, most notably Cunningham Broadcasting and Deerfield Media.
The stations are affiliates of various television networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. Sinclair also owned or managed several affiliates of the WB and UPN networks, which both launched in January 1995. In September 2006, the WB and UPN merged their operations into a new network, the CW. Eight of Sinclair's WB stations, along with independent KFBT (now KVCW) in Las Vegas, became affiliates of the new network. At the same time, Sinclair aligned 17 of its stations (ten former WB affiliates, six former UPN stations, and independent WFGX) with MyNetworkTV, a programming service owned by Fox's parent News Corporation. Sinclair's relationship with Fox/News Corporation was also strengthened after Sinclair agreed to a six-year affiliation renewal for its 19 Fox-affiliated stations. The deal also included flagship WBFF in Baltimore, despite Fox owning a station, MyNetworkTV affiliate WUTB, in the same market; however, Sinclair would later purchase WUTB.