Key Points
- Gray Media reported Q2 2025 revenue of $772 million, down 7%, driven by an 81% drop in political advertising revenue.
- The company posted a net loss of $69 million, compared with net income of $9 million in Q2 2024.
- Gray announced multiple station acquisitions and swaps, with deals expected to close in Q4 2025 pending regulatory approvals.
Ongoing woes in the traditional television advertising market impaired Gray Media’s ability to post a profitable second quarter (Q2), the local broadcaster revealed on Friday.
During the three-month period that ended in June, Gray Media earned $772 million in revenue, down 7 percent compared to last year but in line with guidance that was issued in early July. Its financial loss for the quarter was $69 million, compared with a profit of $9 million logged last year.
Core advertising revenue clocked in at $361 million during Q2, or 3 percent lower on a year-over basis, while cable and satellite fees brought in $369 million, down 1 percent. Political ad revenue was down 81 percent, though the trend followed many of its peer broadcasters, given the lack of political activity this year.
Another blemish for Gray Media was a $28 million non-cash impairment charge due to the loss of its affiliation with CBS in the Atlanta market, the company said. That station, WANF (Channel 46), is converting to a full-time independent later this month when the network affiliation moves to Paramount-owned WUPA (Channel 69).
“Our results this quarter reflect the expected cyclical decline in political advertising,” the company said in its earnings release, adding that it continues to focus on improving local content, expanding sports coverage, optimizing costs, and strengthening its balance sheet.
Gray reduced its outstanding debt principal by $22 million during the quarter. As of June 30, its leverage ratio stood at 5.60x, with $692 million available under its revolving credit facility.
In July, Gray executed two major financing transactions — the issuance of $900 million in senior secured second lien notes that are due in 2032, and a separate issuance of $775 million in lower-interest senior secured first lien notes that mature the following year. Proceeds were used to redeem or repay existing notes and term loans, pay down revolver borrowings, and cover transaction costs. The company also amended its senior credit facility, boosting capacity to $750 million and extending maturity to late 2028.
After Q2, Gray announced a handful of deals that will expand its local TV station portfolio beyond its current count of 180 owned or operated stations. That includes a deal with the E. W. Scripps Company to swap stations in five markets, and a deal that will see Gray Media acquire all of Block Communications’ outlets for $80 million. On Friday, after Gray Media reported its Q2 earnings, the company affirmed plans to spend more than $170 million to buy ten TV stations from Allen Media Group in the southern and Midwestern U.S.
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