quarterly reports

$24.4 million in political advertising is the key to the increase from the same period last year. CEO David Smith: “2016 is off to an exciting start with our first quarter results exceeding guidance primarily on higher political revenues.”

Increases in political, retrans and carriage of Super Bowl 50 were drivers. Looking ahead, CEO Les Moonves says “we are in a very enviable position for this year’s upfront, given the ongoing strength of our primetime lineup and a robust advertising marketplace. Plus, advertising is poised for even more growth in the back half of the year as political spending ramps up.” He adds that retrans is expected to surpass $1 billion this year.

CEO Perry Sook attributes the gains to “advertising strength in key categories complemented by our ability to monetize the Super Bowl through coordinated multiplatform revenue initiatives; political advertising spending which exceeded our expectations; continued robust retransmission fee growth; and, another quarter of double-digit digital media growth.”

 A declining supply of ratings and reduced advertising loads pushed Viacom’s advertising revenues down for its fiscal second quarter, despite a strong scatter TV marketplace.

Bolstered also by gains in retransmission consent fees and digital media (up 15%), the company reported total revenue for Local Media Group with its 17 stations increased 14.7% to $140.9 million.

The increase is due to gains in retrans, online and political ad money, the last of which was up 666.7% to $15.7 million.

First quarter revenue is up 11.4%, not counting Super Bowl windfall for the 1Q 2015.The increase is driven by higher ad rates for NFL games and one additional game compared to last year’s first quarter. Counting Super Bowl, revenue was down 7.3%

Nielsen Holdings had a strong first-quarter financial period. Overall Nielsen revenue climbed 2% to $1.49 billion, with net income 60% higher to $101 million.

Dish Network may have lost 23,000 net pay TV subscribers during first quarter of 2016, but shareholders will take its better-than-expected bottom line. The satellite TV provider on Wednesday reported diluted earnings per share of 84 cents — Wall Street thought Dish would report just 62 cents per share. That’s a nice surprise to wake up to if you’re a stockholder.

The streaming-video service reported better profit than it expected in the first quarter on strong new member additions, but its weak outlook for members in the current quarter pushed shares down 13%  in after-hours trade.

It dips to $5.6 million, but full-year TV revenue rises 5% to $21 million.

Revenue decreases 3.4% to $464 million, pegged to a $46.5 million decrease in net political advertising revenues that was only partially offset by a 27% increase in retrans and a 2.6% gain in core ad revenue. It says it has retained advisers to consider “strategic and financial alternatives.”

The drop to $95.2 million is pegged to lower political money that couldn’t be offset by increased retrans revenue. For all of 2015, TV revenue was down 1%.

The dip to $171 million was due to lower national and political dollars that weren’t offset by a 45% increase in retrans revenue.

Net revenues are $366 million, with local (including retrans) up 18%, national down 3% and digital down 5%, according to accounting that includes LIN Media stations acquired late last year. For the full year, net revenues are down 1% to $1.3 billion

Revenue tops $169 million, driven by increased local and national sales, retrans and station acquisitions. Net income is $6.6 million. Retrans grows to $39.5 million. Excluding acquired stations, revenue decreased 12%, to $169.5 million.

The Spanish-Language broadcaster says the drop to $39.8 million is primarily due to the absence of World Cup and significant political advertising revenue in 2015 compared to 2014, and a decrease in local advertising revenue, partially offset by an increase in retransmission consent revenue.

Fourth quarter core ad revenue rose 33.1% and was complemented by an 85.1% rise in retransmission fee revenue and a 105.8% increase in digital media revenue that collectively more than offset the impact of a year-over-year reduction in political revenue of $27.5 million, or 77.7%.

Political ad money was the 4Q culprit, digital revenue was a bright spot, climbing 33%.

U.S. Hispanic media giant Univision Communications unveiled a profit Tuesday for the fourth quarter of 2015, signaling better prospects for an IPO bid it filed last summer. In an earnings conference call led by CEO Randy Falco and CFO Francisco Lopez-Balboa, the company disclosed a 4Q revenue rise of 1.1% to $735.9 million compared to the same time frame in 2014. Total revenue for the full year dipped 1.8% $2.86 billion compared to $2.91 billion a year earlier.

The drop is due to political advertising comparisons. Core was up 7% to almost $300 million and retrans climbed 27% to $120 million.

As the TV networks report their 4Q and full-year results, their execs are saying TV advertising is holding up well under the onslaught from digital media. In fact, they add, first-quarter scatter spending continues strong and they are looking forward to a robust upfront market. So while waiting for the pure-plays to report their numbers, let’s remember that strong network sales bodes well for local sales, not to mention the national economy.

The decline is due to lower political ad money. On the positive side, “Retransmission consent and reverse compensation are set to hit $1 billion in 2016 — a year earlier than expected — and are on pace to surpass $2 billion in 2020,” said CEO Les Moonves.

The TV ratings currency company renewed its contract with Hearst a day before releasing earnings. Nielsen’s fourth-quarter 2015 revenue of $1.62 billion came in just above Wall Street’s forecast of $1.61 billion.

Disney’s broadcasting business revenue — its ABC Television Network and its stations — climbed to $1.6 billion in the company’s first quarter, due to the higher number of advertising units sold at higher prices and its New Year’s Eve special programming.

The increase in the company’s fiscal second quarter is tied to higher retransmission consent and ad revenue but would have been higher except for lower political and World Series money.

The fourth quarter increase to $2.5 billion was driven by higher retransmission consent fees, ad revenue as well as money from content licensing. For the full year, revenue from the Broadcast Television segment was stable at $8.5 billion.