Meredith Station Rev. Finishes Quarter Flat

Meredith Corp. today reported that its station group’s fiscal first quarter revenue increased almost 1% to $153,811,000 from $152,586,000 in the same quarter a year ago.

The station group, which operates 17 stations covering 11% of TV homes, saw operating profit of $41 million, down 19% from 3Q 2016, and EBITDA of $48.9 million, down from $60 million in the prior-year period. 

The group’s non-political advertising revenues grew 4% to $88 million, led by growth in the Atlanta, Phoenix and St. Louis markets.

Digital advertising revenues grew 14%. Meredith has recently relaunched all of the mobile news, weather and traffic apps across its station group, yielding record app opens and unique page views.

As expected in a non-political year, political advertising revenues were $1 million, compared to $16 million in the prior-year period.

Other revenues and operating expenses increased, primarily due to growth in retransmission revenues from cable and satellite television operators, partially offset by higher programming fees paid to affiliated networks.

The company as a whole reported quarterly total revenue of $393 million, compared to $400 million in the prior-year period, reflecting the absence of $15 million of political advertising revenue.

Read the company’s report here.