Nexstar Media Group on Thursday said a combination of political advertising revenue and higher fees charged to cable and satellite companies for the continued distribution of its local TV channels and NewsNation helped the company earn a record $5.4 billion last year.
The figure was nearly 10 percent higher than the $4.933 billion brought in during 2023, and set a record for the company’s annual income.
The biggest part of the company’s business was distribution fees charged to pay TV providers, including cable and satellite outlets, which accounted for $2.928 billion in income during 2024, an increase of 7.4 percent. That includes $714 million earned from cable and satellite customers during the fourth quarter (Q4) of the year alone, which was up 1.4 percent compared to Q4 2023.
Advertising revenue clocked in at $2.415 billion in 2024, boosted by a windfall in political advertising dollars that flowed to Nexstar’s 200 owned or operated TV stations across the country and its cable news channel, NewsNation. The figure was up nearly 14 percent compared to 2023. Advertising during Q4 was up nearly 30 percent to $758 million.
Had it not been for political ad dollars during Q4, Nexstar would have logged a $51 million reduction in core, non-political advertising during Q4, the company affirmed in a press release. As with other broadcasters, core advertising has been depressed by ongoing shifts in how marketers are spending their budgets, with more decreasing their spend against traditional TV channels and increasing it across streaming and connected TV platforms.
No matter — at Nexstar, that merely presents an opportunity to charge cable and satellite customers more for their channels. The company did just that, effectuating new distribution agreements with “terms favorable to the company” that helped grow subscription fee revenue between 2023 and last year. Distribution fee revenue was also buoyed by a decision to move the affiliation of the CW Network to more Nexstar owned or controlled stations, which allowed the company to charge more for the distribution of those outlets.
“We ended 2024 with another quarter of record net revenue driven by increased election year political advertising highlighting the effectiveness of local television broadcasting and our presence in nearly 85 percent of contested election markets across the country,” Perry Sook, the CEO of Nexstar, said in a statement. “In addition, we continued to grow distribution revenue, a testament to our position as the largest owner of local broadcast television stations carrying the most-watched programming.”
Nexstar said it will work to renew distribution agreements with cable and satellite companies that cover around 60 percent of its local and national TV audience. With the company’s own affirmation that it demands favorable terms for itself, the chances of more programming-related disputes involving Nexstar-owned stations in 2025 is not low.
Still, Wall Street looked to Nexstar’s financial health on Thursday, sending the company’s stock price up 11 percent in midday trading and fully reversing its year-to-date loss.
