“We continue to see growth in our core business, both in the first quarter and in our second quarter expectations,” announced Sinclair president and CEO David Smith today.

Sinclair, which operates 57 stations covering roughly 22% of U.S. households, announced that its broadcast revenues were up 5.4% in the first quarter, compared to the same period last year. The company saw net broadcast revenues of $155.9 million for the first three months of 2011.

Much of the increase can be attributed to greater advertising revenues as well as Fox’s coverage of the Super Bowl, which brought in $6.2 million for Sinclair’s 20 Fox affiliates.

The company is predicting second quarter station revenue to be up slightly, between 0.3 and 1.6%.