Scripps 1Q Local Media Rev Grows 5.9%

The E.W. Scripps Co. this morning reported first quarter 2019 revenue from its Local Media division (its TV stations and local brands on all platforms) of $203 million, up 5.9% from the prior-year quarter.

Retransmission consent revenue increased 21% to $85.4 million. Retransmission revenue in the 2018 quarter was affected by a one-time refund of $2.1 million.

Core advertising decreased 2.2%. The 2018 quarter included Winter Olympics and Super Bowl advertising on five NBC-affiliated stations, whereas the 2019 quarter only included Super Bowl advertising on two CBS-affiliated stations.

Local Media segment expenses increased 5.5% to $169 million, primarily driven by increases in programming fees tied to network affiliation agreements and the impact of the television stations acquired from Raycom Media.

First quarter Local Media profit was $34.2 million, up 8.2% compared to $31.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

The company’s National Media division reported 1Q revenue of $87.3 million, up from $60.7 million in the prior-year period.

Expenses for the National Media group were $82.4 million, up from $58.7 million in the prior-year period. The increase was driven by the acquisition of Triton, which was completed in the fourth quarter of 2018, as well as the continued investment in Katz, Stitcher and Newsy.

National Media group profit was $4.9 million, compared to $2 million in the 2018 quarter.

For the company as a whole, total revenue was $292 million compared to $254 million in first-quarter 2018, an increase of 14.9%.

Commenting on the quarter’s results, Scripps President-CEO Adam Symson said: “In the last nine months, Scripps has announced three strategic television station acquisitions that grow our national reach, enhance our financial durability and expand our platform for strong local news coverage. As the nation’s fourth-largest independent local broadcaster, we will earnestly fulfill our 2 commitment to serve our communities with quality objective journalism and to provide a trustworthy platform for businesses to reach their consumers.

“With the close of the Nexstar transaction, Scripps will grow its national television station footprint to 60 stations in powerful markets such as New York City, Phoenix, Detroit, Tampa, Miami, Denver and Nashville. We now expect to enter 2020 with an even further strengthened political advertising footprint, including now reaching more than two-thirds of Florida households as well as entering Virginia and Texas. These moves also rebalance our portfolio toward more No.1 and No.2-ranked stations as well as markets where we’ll operate second stations.

“At the same time, we continue to build value in our National Media businesses by focusing on the evolving habits of media consumers and the growing popularity of digital audio, including podcasts, OTT and over-the-air television viewing. The continued momentum in revenue growth for these businesses underscores the opportunity in burgeoning marketplaces and the need for us to stay focused on positioning ourselves to capture the significant upside.

“As we have proven over the last 12 months, we are totally committed to our plan to reposition the company and to complete the work underway to create significant value for our shareholders.”

Read the company’s report here.