E.W. Scripps 2Q TV Revenue Inches Up 1%

The E.W. Scripps Co. this morning reported second quarter revenue from its television group of $193 million, up about 1% from the prior-year quarter.

Retransmission revenue increased $12.6 million, and political advertising revenue declined $5.9 million in the second quarter of 2017.

Revenue broken down by category:

• Local was down 3.8% to $85 million.

• National was down 5.8% to $36 million.

• Core local and national advertising was down 4.4%.

• Political was $2.5 million, compared to $8.4 million a year ago.

• Retransmission consent revenue was up 23.6% to $66.1 million.

Total segment expenses increased 3.7% to $144 million, driven by increases in programming fees tied to its network affiliation agreements.

Second-quarter television segment profit was $49.8 million, compared to $53.3 million in the year-ago quarter.

Digital division 2Q revenue was $19.3 million, up 27.2% from the prior period, driven by growth at its podcast company, Midroll, and its next-generation national news network, Newsy.

Expenses for the digital group were $23.5 million, an increase of $3.6 million. Segment loss in the digital division was $4.2 million in the second quarter, compared to $4.7 million in the 2016 quarter.

For the company as a whole, 2Q total revenue was up 2% to $232 million compared to the second quarter of 2016. Costs and expenses for segments, shared services and corporate were $196 million, up from $186 million, primarily driven by higher network programming fees as well as increased costs in the digital businesses.

Read the company’s report here.