Business

Looking at the current quarter, CFO Naveen Chopra told analysts to expect streaming subscription revenue and streaming advertising revenue to accelerate from the first quarter.

Tegna offered a pitch to advertisers at IAB 2021 NewFronts that amounted to: Trust us, because our viewers already do. The station group — among the first-time presenters at IAB’s annual gathering — emphasized how its local roots intertwined with a renewed interest among Americans in their local communities.

ViacomCBS exceeded Wall Street earnings expectations in the first quarter, paced by the addition of 6 million global streaming subscribers. Revenue came in at $7.4 billion for the period ending March 31, ahead of analysts’ consensus forecast for $7.2 billion. Earnings per share of $1.42 also cleared the bar and rose 75% from the year-earlier quarter.

Twitter stressed live content and real-time connection in its presentation at the 2021 Digital NewFronts on Wednesday. The company also announced a slate of new and expanded video-based content partnerships. “Twitter is not only a second screen, but it’s also the first scroll when anything is happening in the world,” said Jen Prince, Twitter’s global head of content, in a recent interview.

“The Sunday NFC package has been the most watched NFL package for the past 16 years. Our NFC coverage is an important foundation for the Fox Network and strategically aligns with our local stations, where we own and operate the Fox affiliate in 14 of the 16 NFC markets,” Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch told analysts.

Fox Corp. beat Wall Street analysts’ forecasts for its fiscal third quarter, with results that reflected difficult comparisons with the Super Bowl period a year earlier. Earnings per share came in at 96 cents during the period ending March 31, well ahead of analysts’ consensus for 58 cents. Total revenue reached $3.22 billion, about $100 million ahead of the Street but down from $3.44 billion in the same quarter in 2020. Affiliate revenue increased 10%, powered by an 18% gain in the Television unit.

Twitter is acquiring Scroll, a subscription service that removes ads from participating news sites. Scroll, which charges $5 per month, is going into private beta with Twitter in preparation for being incorporated in a broader subscription service later this year, Scroll CEO Tony Haile said in a blog post.

EVP-CFO Lucy Rutishauser: “If you adjust for the impact of the Super Bowl moving this year to CBS from Fox last year, core advertising results for the first quarter would have been up low-single-digits compared to a year ago,” she told analysts. President-CEO Chris Ripley added: “We’ve been very, very happy with what we’ve seen on [2Q] core advertising. It’s been a great bounce back for the economy overall.”

The decrease to $1.5 billion comes from lower political ad revenue. Core revenues, which excludes political revenues, totaled $367 million, an increase of 3% versus $358 million in the first quarter of 2020, benefiting from more local sports games taking place in the quarter compared to the same period a year ago.

It’s not every day that television gets a new ad category. It’s even less common for a new category to become a golden goose. Taboo until a 2018 Supreme Court verdict, online sports betting isn’t technically a new ad category, but with just over two years of a track record, few would challenge its advertising status as a golden goose, especially within the local TV industry.

The purchase of Meredith Corp.’s 17 TV stations by Gray Television tops the latest list of TV station transactions submitted to the FCC for its approval, according to BIA Advisory Services.

Technology shares sunk the broader market Tuesday although the Dow managed a gain. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%, erasing its gains from last week. Big technology companies like Apple and Microsoft fell as the sector declined for the sixth straight day. Losses in communications stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending also weighed on the market, offsetting gains by financial, industrial and materials stocks.

Among new original show announcements for ad-supported video platform YouTube, its connected TV ads will now offer new functions for advertisers. Viewers can click to go to a brand’s website while still watching a video. The announcement came during YouTube’s IAB NewFronts presentation on Tuesday.

“Looking ahead, we’re encouraged by the overall acceleration in economic activity and the improved trajectory of ad spending across our footprint as market conditions continue to improve,” CEO Perry Sook told analysts this morning.

Tegna’s NewFronts presentation showcases the power of local media for reaching audiences at scale in a trusted, brand-safe environment.

The increase to $1.1 billion from 1Q 2020 was boosted by a higher distribution fee revenue (up 13%) and digital revenue growth of 18%. Core ad revenue was down 1.4%.

Tara Lachapelle: “It’s hard to imagine Discovery+ surviving the streaming wars as a stand-alone product. But its immense library would improve the value proposition of any of the leading apps faster than the occasional big-budget movie can.”

Wall Street logged gains on Monday following strong earnings reports. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%. Industrial and financial stocks also helped lift the market. Falling technology and communication stocks, and companies that rely on consumer spending, kept the market’s gains in check.

Beginning June 1, veteran media executive and Nexstar SVP-regional manager Andy Alford will lead the company’s 198 television stations, succeeding the retiring Tim Busch.

The Spanish-language broadcaster issued preliminary first quarter results that indicates $1.36 billion in available liquidity for “potential financing transactions” around a pending deal to create a Spanish-language media powerhouse.

Gray CEO Hilton Howell said today’s $2.7 billion purchase of Meredith’s stations fits with Gray’s strategy of adding stations in key states for heavy political ad spending.

It says the increase from a year ago to $544 million was driven by combined local and national broadcast advertising revenue of $260 million and retransmission revenue of $247 million.

It’s getting 17 stations in 12 markets and will spin off its Flint, Mich., ABC affiliate WJRT since it’s acquiring CBS affil WNEM there. With a combined net revenue exceeding $3.1 billion on a blended 2019-20 basis, Gray said its acquisition of Meredith’s television stations will transform Gray into the nation’s second largest television broadcaster.

Verizon will sell Verizon Media, which consists of the pioneering tech platforms, to Apollo Global Management in a $5 billion deal.