Gray Television 4Q Revenue Up 49%

Gray Television this morning announced that total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022 came in at $1.1 billion, an increase of 49% from 4Q 2021, reported on an “as reported” basis (the respective 2021 periods reflect the “off-year” of the two-year political advertising cycle).

That revenue total comprised:

• Core advertising revenue (total local, national and internet advertising revenue) was $406 million, an increase of 13% from 4Q 2021.
• Political advertising revenue of $255 million, up 1175%.
• Retransmission consent revenue of $353 million, up 20%

• Production companies revenue of $37 million, up 28%.

Net income attributable to common stockholders was $173 million, up 981%.

Broadcast cash flow was $485 million, an increase of 88%.

The company said: “Overall, the fourth quarter of 2022 produced record results, including $1.1 billion in total revenue, due to the combination of recent acquisitions, added scale, increasingly efficient integrated operations, and the “on-year” of the two-year political advertising cycle. Moreover, compared to the fourth quarter of 2018, the last mid-term election year, our political advertising revenue of $255 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 grew by 207% on an As-Reported Basis (as defined below) and by 24% on a Combined Historical Basis (as defined below). For the full year 2022, our political advertising revenue was $515 million, which exceeded 2018’s political advertising revenue by 232% on an As-Reported Basis and by 38% on a Combined Historical Basis.

“Our strong cash flow in the fourth quarter of 2022 enabled us to return a total of $174 million of capital to our shareholders during the fourth quarter, including: two voluntary debt principal pre-payments totaling $150 million under our 2017 Term Loan B (due 2024); a required principal payment of $4 million under our 2021 Term Loan D (due 2028); and $20 million of cash dividends to our preferred and common shareholders. As part of our strong commitment to strengthen our balance sheet, as described below, we currently intend to fully pre-pay the remaining $295 million principal balance on our Term Loan B on March 1, 2023, and we have undertaken efforts to cap the interest rate on our floating rate debt, as described below.

“Despite concerns about a possible macroeconomic recession discussed publicly in the general media and by certain sectors of the economy, we believe that our businesses performed well throughout last year and have started 2023 in a strong position. Most notably, on a Combined Historical Basis, our television stations’ Core Advertising Revenue (total local, national and internet advertising revenue) of $1.5 billion for full-year 2022 declined by only $19 million or a mere 1% compared to 2021. This performance came despite a more challenging macro-economic environment as well as inventory displacement caused by $515 million of political advertising revenue in 2022, an increase of $455 million, on a Combined Historical Basis. We attribute these solid results to real-world confidence among advertisers and businesses in local markets, which we believe has been and remains more positive than the advertising sentiment currently held by many national advertisers. We also attribute our success in maintaining Core Advertising Revenues to our scale and portfolio of high-quality local stations, our investments in recently acquired television stations, and our efficient sales and news operations. Relatedly, on a Combined Historical Basis, our retransmission revenues grew 5% in full-year 2022 over the prior year, as rate increases outpaced subscriber declines and subscriber rotation into lower revenue generating platforms.

“Looking ahead, we anticipate that our television stations and production companies will maintain revenues at a level generally flat with recent years should macroeconomic conditions, particularly in local markets, slow during 2023. In addition, we anticipate that our retransmission revenues in the first quarter of 2023 will increase by approximately 10% to 11% over the fourth quarter of 2022 as rates increases continue to outpace negative subscriber trends.

“Meanwhile, we believe our investments in Atlanta Assembly will provide some diversification from our broadcasting segment with new exposure to the growing film and television production industry in Georgia. We currently anticipate that construction on the Assembly Studios portion of the development and much of the infrastructure for the entire project will be completed in the summer of 2023. At that time, we expect that the new facilities will begin generating revenue from both long-term and short-term leases of soundstages and related facilities to various content producers. Also at that time, Gray intends to pause its funding of construction projects at Atlanta Assembly to evaluate carefully certain opportunities to maximize the long-term value of this unique real estate investment.”

Read the company’s report here.

Also Friday morning, Gray authorized a quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share of its common stock and Class A common stock. The dividend is payable on March 31 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 15.