Healthy political advertising spend help offset ongoing declines in cable and satellite-based revenue during broadcaster TEGNA’s third financial quarter (Q3) of the year, the company revealed on Thursday.
During the three-month period that ended September 30, TEGNA brought in $126 million in political advertising revenue, well above the $11.6 million in political advertising revenue the company saw in Q3 2023. Advertising and marketing services (AMS) revenue was flat at $312.9 million, spurred by an uptick in advertising against TEGNA’s NBC affiliates during the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The company said local accounts at its TV stations helped offset declines in its national advertising business.
Subscription revenue accounted for the biggest part of TEGNA’s overall income during Q3, with $356.2 million in fees collected from cable, satellite and streaming cable-like services, down 6 percent on a year-over basis. That segment was weighed down in large part due to ongoing constriction in the pay TV business, which has experienced a wave of customer cancellations over the years as subscribers flee high bills and sign up for cheaper streaming offerings, some of which do not carry TEGNA-owned stations.
It marks the latest quarter that TEGNA has reported lower subscription revenue, despite the company renewing its distribution agreements with cable and satellite companies. Typically, those renewal windows afford broadcasters an opportunity to increase the fees they charge to cable and satellite companies, and most do so on account that the extra money will offset cable and satellite subscriber losses.
TEGNA has been known to pull its channels from pay TV platforms that do not initially agree to its demands for higher fees, and did so last year when DirecTV refused to pay them. The dispute was settled in time for several key football games that are carried on some TEGNA-owned stations, with financial terms not disclosed; the ongoing decline in TEGNA’s subscription revenue suggests the company ultimately agreed to lower distribution fees from DirecTV than it originally sought in order to restore their channels to the platform.
Total revenue at TEGNA was $806.8 million during Q3, an increase of 13 percent that was largely based on healthy political advertising spend.
During the quarter, TEGNA saw a handful of executives announce their intention to depart the company in the near future, including Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Media Operations Lynn Beall, who will leave in mid-2025, and Senior Vice President of News Ellen Crooke, who will retire in January. TEGNA also saw its new chief executive, Michael Steib, elevated to that role in August following the departure of long-time CEO David Lougee.
At the same time, TEGNA made a number of investments in sports rights for its local TV station, with the Dallas Mavericks and Colorado Avalanche agreeing to distribute games on TEGNA-owned stations in Texas and Colorado. It also kicked off a telecast partnership with the Seattle Kraken that sees games aired on KING-TV (Channel 5, NBC) and KONG-TV (Channel 16) in western Washington state.
