Scripps 1Q Station Revenue Up 4.5%

E.W. Scripps Co. announced first quarter results on Friday morning, including Local Media (its TV stations and local brands on all platforms) revenue of $327 million, up 4.5% from the prior-year quarter.

Core advertising rose 3.4% to $157 million.

Political advertising revenue was $5.8 million, compared to $1.3 million in the prior-year quarter.

Retransmission revenue increased 2.5% to $160 million.

Total segment expenses increased 6.1%, driven by network affiliation fees and the impact of Scripps employees returning to working in its stations, resuming more normal operating procedures.

Segment profit was $54.4 million, compared to $55.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

The Scripps Networks division, which includes its nine national networks, reported revenue of $239 million, up 12% from a year ago. Revenue in the first quarter of 2022 reflects incremental ad revenue earned from the July 2021 launch of Defy TV and TrueReal networks and the acquisition of Ion, which closed Jan. 7, 2021.

Segment expenses increased 27%. The increase reflects costs attributed to recent over-the-air network launches, continued investment in programming and higher costs tied to revenue growth.

Segment profit was $85.1 million, compared to $92.2 million a year earlier.

For the company as a whole, total 1Q revenue was $566 million, an increase of 4.6%, or $24.8.2 million, from the prior-year quarter. Revenues benefited from higher core, political and retransmission revenue in the Local Media division and overall growth in the Scripps Networks operations.

Costs and expenses for segments, shared services and corporate were $451 million, up from $408 million in the year-ago quarter.

Income attributable to the shareholders of Scripps was $9.8 million or 10 cents per share.

Pre-tax costs for the quarter included $1.6 million of acquisition and related integration costs as well as a $1.2 million gain on extinguishment of debt from the redemption of senior notes. In the prior-year quarter, loss from continuing operations attributable to the shareholders of Scripps was $8.1 million or 10 cents per share.

Commenting on the quarter’s results, Scripps President-CEO Adam Symson said: “Once again in the first quarter, Scripps delivered outstanding financial results, despite the macro-economic environment. We carried our 2021 momentum into this year, with superb sales execution as well as a disciplined approach to expenditures across the company, resulting in significant ad sales growth and strong segment profit.

“In Local Media, our focus on winning new-to-TV advertising dollars fueled double-digit growth in key core advertising categories. In addition, pay TV subscriber growth contributed to the segment’s stellar top-line performance of mid-single-digit total revenue growth, even exceeding our expectations for low single digits. Local Media’s strong start provides a springboard for the rest of the year as we anticipate a robust mid-term political revenue cycle.

“Our Scripps Networks division performed at the top of its peer set of large national broadcast and cable networks portfolios in revenue and audience. The Scripps Networks ratings grew 5% in total viewers in prime time, propelled by our leadership in growing the over-the-air marketplace. Among the standouts was Bounce, our African American focused network, which has seen significant ratings and revenue growth in concert with some changes to our programming lineup. And despite the recent national advertising climate, Networks grew revenue 8.5% and produced a 36% profit margin.

“The Scripps strategy around free, ad-supported television is resonating with consumers as they gravitate toward simplicity, savings and efficiency. Recent reports from Nielsen, Kantar and Horowitz Research all found fatigue with the cost and complexity of navigating plus-services, and we believe free, over-the-air television and other free, ad-supported platforms are the solutions they are seeking. Inflation, the consumers’ plus fatigue, subscription video on demand (SVOD) subscriber churn and Wall Street’s recent reckoning with the SVOD model all work in our favor.”

Read the company’s report here.