Gray 1Q Broadcast Revenue Up 2%

Gray Television this morning announced that total revenue for the first quarter of 2021 came in at $544 million, that’s an increase of $10 million, or 2%, from 1Q 2020. That was broken down into Broadcasting ($530 million, up 3%) and Production Companies ($14 million, down 26%).

Gray reported the results shortly before announcing it had agreed to purchase Meredith Corp.’s television stations for $2.7 billion (see story here).

With total core revenue at $260 million, up about 4% from a year ago, the biggest revenue driver was retransmission consent.

That Broadcasting revenue total comprised:

• Local advertising revenue (including internet/digital/mobile) of $203 million, up 2% from $199 million.
• National advertising revenue of $57 million, up 12% from $51 million.
• Political advertising revenue of $9 million, down 75% from $36 million.
• Retransmission consent revenue of $247 million, up 16% from $213 million.

The Production company revenue totaled $14 million, down 26% from $19 million.

Other revenue totaled $14 million, down 13% from $16 million.

The company said: In the first quarter of 2021, our combined local and national broadcast revenue, excluding political advertising revenue (“Total Core Revenue”), increased by approximately 4% compared to the first quarter of 2020 as advertiser demand returned amid the end of political displacement.

“During the fourth quarter of 2020, we repurchased 972,706 shares of our common stock at an average price of $16.44 per share, including commissions, for a total cost of approximately $16 million. During 2020, we repurchased 5.5 million shares of our common stock on the open market at an average price of $13.80 per share, including commissions, for a total cost of $75 million.”

Read the company’s report here.