Nexstar Media Group saw its overall revenue climb to a record $1.37 billion during its third financial quarter (Q3) of the year, boosted by an uptick in distribution fees from cable and satellite companies and an uptick in advertising spend during the quarter.
Distribution fees accounted for the biggest portion of Nexstar’s overall revenue, with the company pulling in $719 million from cable, satellite and streaming cable-like services, an increase of 20 percent compared to Q3 2023. Like other broadcasters, Nexstar negotiates carriage of its local TV stations with cable and satellite platforms, requiring those companies to pay fees for distribution of its channels. Nexstar has a portfolio of nearly 200 owned or operated local TV stations, owns a majority stake in the CW Network and operates the cable channel NewsNation.
The year-over uptick in distribution fee revenue was primarily attributed to the availability of Nexstar’s stations on DirecTV’s satellite and streaming platforms, which was not the case during a portion of the company’s Q3 last year. Nexstar said its dispute with DirecTV was ultimately settled with “terms favorable to the company.”
Advertising revenue climbed 22 percent to $622 million during Q3, representing the second-biggest part of Nexstar’s business. The line item includes around $154 million in political advertising, spurred by an increased in spending from political campaigns and causes during the 2024 election cycle. Political advertising was up 16 percent compared to the 2020 election cycle, the company said.
“Other” revenue attributed to Nexstar’s non-broadcast and non-digital businesses, including investments, came in at $25 million, or flat compared to the prior year.
While Nexstar has been investing heavily in sports rights for its CW Network, the company managed to trim losses associated with that business by $36 million during Q3. The CW Network ended the quarter with $22 million in cash on hand, Nexstar affirmed.
Shares of Nexstar climbed by nearly 5 percent in midday trading before closing at $188.24 per share, an increase of 2.7 percent compared to one day prior.
