Sinclair to pay ABC.

Sinclair Broadcast Group has cut a new affiliation deal with ABC that reflects the changing economics of the broadcasting biz and the drive for greater retransmission consent coin.

Sinclair disclosed Friday that the new affiliation pact, which runs through August 2015, calls for the company to pay a "license fee" to ABC to carry the network's programming. But it expects to offset that cost with high retrans revenue from local cable and satellite operators, who are under pressure to pay higher fees to carry local stations affiliated with the Big Four networks.

ABC, CBS and Fox have put affiliates on notice that they expect to share in the retrans windfall because it's …