Nexstar Media Group on Thursday reported lower revenue for the first three months (Q1) of the year, driven by a reduction in political advertising revenue that boosted the company’s top line substantially during 2024.
Advertising revenue accounted for $460 million of Nexstar’s $1.23 billion in overall revenue during Q1. Overall revenue was down 4 percent, while advertising revenue decreased more than 10 percent. Both drops were compared to Q1 2024.
Distribution revenue, which accounts for fees charged to cable and satellite companies for carriage of Nexstar’s owned or operated local TV stations and its cable channel NewsNation, crept up slightly to $762 million, bolstered by higher fee demands that were partially offset by ongoing churn in the pay TV business.
Net income was $97 million, down $70 million compared to the prior year, impacted by lower advertising spend against Nexstar’s properties and an increase in the fees paid to sports rights holders for programming aired on the CW Network.
Nexstar Chief Executive Officer Perry Sook noted the silver linings where they were to be found in a statement released by the broadcaster on Thursday.
“Nexstar delivered solid first quarter Net Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, driven by record first quarter distribution revenue and disciplined expense management,” Sook wrote. “As the nation’s largest local broadcaster, we strategically use our scale to drive strong operating results and cash flow and facilitate organic growth initiatives as we further elevate the CW and NewsNation to top-tier networks.”
The company continues to be focused on building out live programming on the CW Network, with Nexstar touting higher viewership thanks to its programming strategy. Nexstar saw a 19 percent year-over increase in viewership during NASCAR Xfinity Cup Series races and “WWE NXT,” a professional wrestling program it broadcasts in partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment.
Moving forward, Nexstar said it was focused on renewing its agreements with cable, satellite and streaming cable-like alternatives for the continued distribution of its networks. In recent months, executives have affirmed a desire to continue raising the prices cable and satellite companies must pay for distribution of Nexstar-owned channels; earlier this year, one such request led Altice U.S.’ Optimum to drop Nexstar channels for about a week.
