The election cycle was very good to Gray Media, but a shift in college football programming coupled with two devastating hurricanes are impacting stations in ways that forced the broadcaster to update its guidance for the rest of the year.

On Friday, Gray said it earned $173 million in political advertising revenue during the third financial quarter (Q3) of the year, comprising nearly 20 percent of the company’s overall income.

Political advertising increased 35 percent compared to the $128 million Gray Media earned during Q3 of the 2020 election cycle. When compared to last year, Gray’s Q3 political revenue jumped 565 percent, though the election cycle was still a few months away from ramping up.

Total revenue clocked in at $950 million, or 18 percent higher on a year-over basis. When compared to the 2020 presidential election, Gray Media’s Q3 revenue was up more than 57 percent.

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Retransmission consent income — which consists mainly of fees charged to cable, satellite and some streaming cable-like services for the privilege of redistributing Gray’s local TV stations to paying subscribers — comprised the majority of the company’s revenue, clocking in at $369 million during Q3. The figure was down 2 percent compared to Q3 2023, the result of higher churn in the pay TV industry, which chipped away at distribution-related earnings.

Core advertising revenue — which consists of local and national non-political inventory — increased 1 percent to $365 million. That figure was on track with Gray’s prior revenue guidance, but could have been higher had it not been for Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, which caused Gray’s TV stations in the southeastern portion of the country to interrupt normal programming for breaking news.

Gray said its Q3 advertising revenue met prior forecasts, but it revised a projection for Q4 due to varying factors, including ongoing impacts from the two hurricanes on its southern stations and a shift in programming that will see Southeastern Conference (SEC) college football games move from CBS to ABC. While Gray owns a handful of ABC affiliates in the southern portion of the country, more of its stations are affiliated with CBS. Gray says those impacts will likely lead to an 11 percent dip in core advertising revenue during Q4. For the year, Gray said its 2024 advertising revenue will likely be down 3 percent from its earlier projection, and 2 percent lower than what it earned in 2023.

A portion of Q4 did fall within the now-concluded election cycle, but political advertising won’t be enough to offset projected losses in core advertising, Gray affirmed. The company now believes it will earn between $248 million and $253 million from political ads during Q4, and around $495 million to $500 million for 2024, which it said is a reflection of “fewer competitive non-presidential races” in some markets where it owns local TV stations, and factors that are expected to impact its core advertising.

Redistribution revenue is now expected to bring in between $355 million and $360 million during Q4, and over $1.4 billion for 2024.