Gray Television Q3 Revenue Drops 12%

Gray Television this morning announced that total revenue for the third quarter of 2023 came in at $803 million, a decrease of 12% from Q3 2022.

That revenue total comprised:

• Core advertising revenue (excluding political) was $363 million, an increase of 1% from $359 million a year ago.
• Political advertising revenue of $26 million, down 82%.
• Retransmission consent revenue of $378 million, up 3%

• Production companies revenue of $20 million, unchanged.
• Other of $16 million, down 11%.

Broadcast cash flow was $210 million, a decrease of 37%.

The company said: “We are particularly pleased with the performance of our television stations during the quarter, whose core advertising revenue increased 1% on a year-over-year basis. We saw continued improvement in the automobile advertising category with an 18% year-over-year increase. In addition, political advertising revenues in a non-political year were relatively strong at $26 million. Continuing the trend of the first and second quarters of 2023, the third quarter’s political advertising revenue exceeded the amount of the corresponding quarter in 2019, the last year that preceded a presidential election year. As a result of another strong quarter of political advertising revenue, we today raise our previous guidance for full-year 2023 political advertising revenue by 33% to at least $80 million.

“Given these solid performances across our television stations in the first three quarters of 2023, we currently anticipate that our television station operations will grow advertising revenues during the remainder of 2023, due to our strong positions in local markets and the exceptional efforts of our local station staff.

“On September 1, 2023, we entered into an agreement with the CW Network (“CW”) to extend their network affiliation agreements at most of our legacy stations and to commence an affiliation with PeachtreeTV, our independent television station in the Atlanta market. Prior to that agreement, we entered into a sports rights agreement that allows CW to broadcast a slate of Atlantic Coast Conference (“ACC”) football as well as men’s and women’s basketball games on a national basis.

“In the third quarter, we returned the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury local basketball games from a sports network to our local broadcast television stations serving all three of Arizona’s media markets covering the entire state. We continue pursuing similar innovative arrangements to expand the local availability of professional sports on Gray’s television stations in additional markets.

“Finally, in the third quarter, we completed and delivered to NBCUniversal the soundstages, offices, warehouses, mill spaces, parking and related facilities that the studio has leased from us in our Assembly Studios real estate complex located in the Atlanta metro area. Construction on Gray’s facilities within Assembly Studios and key infrastructure for the surrounding Assembly Atlanta complex is currently expected to be completed prior to year-end. We are continuing to evaluate opportunities to unlock the value of this unique real estate development. While we currently anticipate that the mixed-use complex will be fully constructed and utilized by 2030, we currently do not anticipate any material capital projects at Assembly Atlanta in 2024.”

Also today, Gray’s board authorized a quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share of its common stock and Class A common stock. The dividend is payable on Dec. 29, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 15.

Read the company’s report here.