Delbert R. Parks, III
SinclairAbout Delbert R. Parks, III
Delbert R. “Del” Parks, III is President of Technology at Sinclair, Inc. (SBGI), age 72, serving in this role since March 2022 after nearly five decades in operations and engineering across the company and WBFF-TV Baltimore; he is a SMPTE Fellow, a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers, and serves on the boards of the Baltimore Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, and CAST.ERA . He oversees planning and execution of technical infrastructure, media operations, ATSC 3.0/NEXTGEN TV, advertising technology, and facilities strategy . Company performance context during his tenure:
| Metric | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSR – $100 initial value | $99.09 | $84.43 | $51.76 | $46.69 | $62.00 |
| Peer Group TSR – $100 initial value | $92.94 | $93.35 | $65.05 | $119.01 | $106.24 |
| Net Income (Loss) ($MM) | $(2,429) | $(326) | $2,701 | $(279) | $319 |
| Adjusted EBITDA ($MM) | $2,165 | $793 | $956 | $557 | $876 |
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sinclair, Inc. | President of Technology | Mar 2022–present | Led technical infrastructure, media ops, ATSC 3.0, ad tech, facilities strategy |
| Sinclair, Inc. | EVP / Chief Technology Officer | Feb 2020–Mar 2022 | Enterprise technology leadership; NEXTGEN TV platform advancement |
| Sinclair Television Group, Inc. | SVP / Chief Technology Officer | Nov 2014–Feb 2020 | Technology architecture; digital broadcast transformation |
| Sinclair, Inc. | SVP / Operations & Engineering | Dec 2013–Nov 2014 | Operational and engineering leadership |
| Sinclair, Inc. | VP / Engineering & Operations | 1996–Dec 2013 | Station engineering ops across footprint |
| WBFF-TV (Baltimore) | Director of Operations & Engineering | 1985–1996 | Station operations; engineering management |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years / Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Area Council, Boy Scouts of America | Board of Directors | Current | Community leadership |
| CAST.ERA (Sinclair + SK Telecom JV) | Board Member | Current | Advanced broadcast/data services |
| SMPTE | Fellow | Current | Industry recognition |
| Society of Broadcast Engineers | Member | Current | Professional affiliation |
Fixed Compensation
- Individual pay elements (base salary, target bonus) for Mr. Parks are not disclosed; SBGI reports detailed compensation only for named executive officers (NEOs) in the proxy .
- Company-wide design: executives are compensated with base salary plus long-term incentives (restricted stock, SARs), with cash bonuses primarily used for roles directly influencing revenue/EBITDA; perquisites are minimal .
Performance Compensation
Company frameworks that may apply to eligible executives (eligibility for Mr. Parks is not disclosed):
- Annual Incentive Plan (AIP) adopted Feb 25, 2025, allows cash awards tied to goals (e.g., unlevered FCF, stock price, relative TSR), with periods set by the Compensation Committee; no AIP awards for FY2024 .
- 2024 performance bonuses (NEO plan) tied to Adjusted EBITDA; thresholds and payouts shown below:
| Metric | Q1 2024 | Q2 2024 | Q3 2024 | Q4 2024 | Annual Target | Annual Achieved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Targeted Adjusted EBITDA ($MM) | $130.1 | $131.4 | $221.6 | $352.7 | $835.8 | $835.8 |
| % of Target Achieved | 97.67% | 111.94% | 108.19% | 91.90% | 100.36% (Recapture) | 100.36% |
- 2023 performance bonuses (NEO plan):
| Metric | Q1 2023 | Q2 2023 | Q3 2023 | Q4 2023 | Annual Target | Annual Achieved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Targeted Adjusted EBITDA ($MM) | $108.8 | $88.5 | $102.8 | $155.6 | $455.7 | $455.7 |
| % of Target Achieved | 108.72% | 119.63% | 137.67% | 116.39% | 121.86% (Recapture) | 121.86% |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Mr. Parks is not listed among directors or NEOs in the Security Ownership tables (which enumerate >5% holders, each director, and each NEO); therefore individual beneficial ownership for Mr. Parks is not disclosed in the proxy .
- Stock pledging: the proxy notes pledging for certain directors (e.g., Howard E. Friedman) but contains no pledging disclosure for Mr. Parks .
- Stock ownership guidelines and compliance status are not disclosed for Mr. Parks; company-wide policies emphasize alignment via equity awards .
Vesting mechanics under SBGI plans (company-wide terms):
| Award Type | Standard Vesting | Accelerated Vesting Triggers | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted Class A Stock (SIP) | 50% at 1-year; 50% at 2-year from grant | Death/disability; termination by company without cause; resignation for good reason; change in control; retirement after age 65 or after 55 with ≥10 years service | Service-based vesting; dividends paid per Board declarations |
| Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs) (SIP) | 10-year term; vest immediately or over 2–4 years depending grant | Immediate vest on termination without cause, resignation for good reason, retirement (age/service criteria); vest on change in control (SIP) or dissolution/merger (Predecessor LTIP) | Settlement in Class A shares with value equal to stock price less base value; no options granted since 2016 |
Clawback policy:
- Incentive-Based Compensation Clawback Policy adopted Oct 2023; provides recoupment of certain incentive-based pay to covered executives in the event of an accounting restatement, consistent with Dodd-Frank and Nasdaq 5608 .
Employment Terms
- No individual employment agreement for Mr. Parks is disclosed; proxy details agreements for NEOs only (e.g., CEO, CFO, COO, CLO), including severance and change-of-control provisions .
- As a senior executive who may receive SIP awards, the accelerated vesting terms above would govern award treatment on qualifying events .
Performance & Track Record
- ATSC 3.0/NEXTGEN TV leadership: Parks has led deployment and strategy for NEXTGEN TV infrastructure and capabilities across Sinclair’s footprint .
- BPS/eLoran demonstration: At NAB Show, Parks highlighted the role of broadcasters in resilient positioning (Broadcast Positioning System) enabled by ATSC 3.0, pairing with eLoran to mitigate GPS vulnerabilities—“a trillion-dollar problem” in the U.S. economy .
- Investor day insights: Sinclair’s technology roadmap under Parks included NEXTGEN TV rollout across 57 markets covering ~55% of U.S. TV households with projected receiver adoption ramping through 2025–2027, supporting data delivery (BitPath) and monetization initiatives .
- Direct-to-mobile/data casting initiatives: Management Q&A described near-term applications (enhanced GPS, IoT device control, low-latency sports) and handset ecosystem engagement for ATSC 3.0; Parks participated in the discussion of spectrum options (CBRS/private 5G) .
Governance & Compensation Context
- Controlled company: The Smith family collectively controls >50% of voting power; certain Nasdaq governance requirements (majority-independent board; independent committees for comp/nomination) are inapplicable, though SBGI maintains independent comp committee practices .
- Compensation peer group (benchmarking reference): AMC Networks, Cumulus Media, E.W. Scripps, Entravision, FOX Corp., Gray Television, iHeartMedia, Nexstar, Tegna, The New York Times Co. .
- Say-on-pay approval: 97% in 2023; 93% in 2024—supporting compensation approach continuity .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Parks’ mandate spans NEXTGEN TV and data services (BPS/eLoran, BitPath), which can underpin new revenue streams and operational resilience; company TSR and Adjusted EBITDA improved YoY in 2024, providing a more favorable backdrop versus 2023 .
- Retention risk: Individual compensation, equity awards, and ownership for Parks are not disclosed; however, SIP terms grant accelerated vesting upon retirement for qualifying ages/service. Given Parks’ age, if he holds SIP awards, vesting could accelerate on retirement, modestly reducing award-based retention leverage .
- Trading signals: No Form 4/insider selling data is disclosed in the proxy for Parks; absence of pledging disclosure reduces alignment red flags, but the controlled-company structure concentrates voting power and may dampen governance-driven catalysts .
- Execution: Success of ATSC 3.0 monetization and resilient PNT (BPS/eLoran) use cases is a key lever; management articulates near-term applications with active commercialization efforts (BitPath), but adoption across devices and ecosystem partners remains an execution variable .