Scripps Q4 Station Revenue Drops 12%

E.W. Scripps Co. announced fourth quarter results this morning, including Local Media (its TV stations and local brands on all platforms) revenue of $381 million, down 12% from the prior-year quarter.

• Core advertising decreased 1% to $166 million.
• Political advertising revenue was $16.4 million, compared to $106 million in the prior-year quarter, an election year.
• Distribution revenue increased 22% to $196 million.
• Segment expenses increased 4.8% to $295 million.
• Segment profit was $85.7 million, compared to $152 million in the year-ago quarter.

The Scripps Networks division, which includes its nine national networks, reported revenue of $230 million, down 7.1% from the prior-year quarter.

• Segment expenses were $166 million, down 1.2%.
• Segment profit was $64.3 million, compared to $80 million in the year-ago quarter.

For the company as a whole, total Q4 revenue was $616 million, a decrease of 9.6%, or $65.2 million, from the prior-year quarter, which included a midterm election.

Costs and expenses for segments, shared services and corporate were $503 million, up from $477 million in the year-ago quarter.

Loss attributable to the shareholders of Scripps was $268 million or $3.17 per share.

Commenting on the quarter’s results, Scripps President-CEO Adam Symson said: “Our fourth-quarter results reflect improvement in the advertising marketplace, both at the core local level and nationally. In Local Media, we saw our five top categories end the quarter higher than Q4 2022, with particular strength in auto, home improvement and services. Distribution revenue from cable, satellite and virtual providers was up 22% in the fourth quarter.

“In the Scripps Networks segment, our better-than-expected Q4 results came from the build-back of direct response advertising on our linear streams, aligned with lower inflation and positive consumer spending trends. In addition, we continue to meaningfully grow our networks’ connected TV revenue and distribution, including launching ION on Pluto. Fourth-quarter CTV revenue was up 33% after factoring out the programmatic product we are sunsetting.

“These positive trends in Local Media and Scripps Networks have continued into the first quarter. Our top four local core categories — services, auto, retail and home improvement — are all up in February. On the networks side, the weak upfront season last year left us with less of a revenue foundation than usual for the first quarter. However, direct response advertising has held steady in Q1, and connected TV revenue is building and on track to grow more than 40% for the full year, minus the programmatic product.

“Our advertising revenue results and large distribution ecosystem, combined with our cost-savings initiatives, lay the groundwork for short-term operating performance improvement and firm financial footing as we execute on strategies for future growth. We are planning for a near-term media landscape where consumers combine a variety of connected TV services with free, over-the-air viewing that best serves their desire to watch live sports, news and television entertainment events. We also are moving aggressively ahead with datacasting business models and expect to take in first dollars this year. We are carving out a valuable and durable niche in the chaos around us.”

Read the company’s report here.