Cunningham Broadcasting
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Formerly called
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Glencairn, Ltd. |
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| Industry | Broadcast media |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
| Website | cunninghambroadcasting |
Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation is an owner of broadcast television stations in the United States. The company currently owns eleven stations – five affiliated with Fox (one of which also carries MyNetworkTV on a digital subchannel), three affiliated with The CW, two affiliated with ABC, and one affiliated with MyNetworkTV.
Cunningham has very close ties to the Sinclair Broadcast Group. All but one of the Cunningham stations are operated by Sinclair under local marketing agreements (the exception is WYZZ-TV, which is operated by Nexstar Media Group). In addition, over 90 percent of Cunningham's stock is controlled by trusts in the name of Sinclair founder Julian Smith's children. Based on these arrangements, Cunningham appears to be a shell corporation that Sinclair uses to circumvent Federal Communications Commission regulations on television station ownership.
Cunningham was formed in 1994 as Glencairn, Ltd. It was headed by Edwin Edwards, a former Sinclair executive who had been general manager of one of Sinclair's original stations, WPTT-TV (channel 22, now WPNT) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sinclair sold WPTT to Edwards after Sinclair bought rival WPGH-TV (channel 53), but continued to operate the station under a local marketing agreement before buying the station back outright in 2000.
The initial capital was supplied by Carolyn Smith, wife of Sinclair founder Julian Smith and mother of current Sinclair CEO David Smith. Carolyn Smith also controlled 70% of Glencairn's stock. However, Glencairn held itself out as a minority-owned broadcaster (Edwards is African American), gaining instant favor with the Federal Communications Commission.
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