Graham 1Q TV Revenue Dips 9%

The decrease to $112.9 million is due to primarily to winter Olympics and Super Bowl advertising at the company’s NBC affiliates in the first quarter of 2022, as well as declines in retransmission, digital and political advertising revenues.

Graham Holdings Co. reported first quarter 2023 earnings that included revenue from its television broadcasting division, Graham Media Group, of $112.9 million, a decrease of 9% from $123.4 million in 1Q 2022.

The revenue decline is due primarily to winter Olympics and Super Bowl advertising at the Company’s NBC affiliates in the first quarter of 2022, as well as declines in retransmission, digital and political advertising revenues.

Operating income for the first quarter of 2023 declined 28% to $28.6 million, from $39.9 million in the same period of 2022, due to reduced revenues and higher network fees. While per subscriber rates from cable, satellite and OTT providers have grown, overall cable and satellite subscribers are down due to cord cutting, resulting in retransmission revenue net of network fees in 2023 expected to be similar compared with 2022.

The company as a whole, Graham Holdings, had 1Q revenue of $1billion, up 13% from $914.7 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenues increased at education, health care and automotive.

The company reported an operating income of $27.7 million, compared to $40 million for 1Q 2022. Operating results declined at television broadcasting and other businesses, partially offset by an improvement at education and automotive.

Read the company’s report here.