Sinclair Inc. is a multi-pronged media company in the driver’s seat on bringing groundbreaking broadcast technology to the world, thanks to its forward-think investments. For the company’s veteran tech executive Del Parks, that’s been a core tenet of his work since Day One — in 1971.

The Chairman of the FCC was Dean Burch. Basic cable television policy was the big regulatory consideration of the day. The Telemation Chroma III automatic broadcast color camera for field and studio use attracted the attention of many in the TV business. The A.S. Abell Company owned CBS affiliate WMAR-2 in Baltimore, at the time one of the city’s top stations. Across town, a UHF television station began its broadcast life under Julian Smith.

This was in April 1971, as WBFF-45 in Baltimore, today the flagship station of Sinclair Inc.’s broadcast television properties, signed on the air. At the time, UHF stations were just gaining importance — largely thanks to cable TV.

Parks, today the President of Technology for Sinclair Inc., was there to help sign on WBFF. Some 52 years later, he has gained the respect of his peers across the television industry while earning the captain’s chair at a company that is at the forefront of digital broadcast innovation for television.

This is an excerpt from a feature article appearing in the Winter 2025 RBR+TVBR magazine, distributed earlier this month to subscribers. Not a Radio + Television Business Report Premium Member? Click here to ensure you’re not missing out!