Key Financial Data
- Q1 Total revenue: $768 million (-2% year-over)
- Broadcast revenue: $739 million (-2%)
- Core advertising revenue: $352 million (+2%)
- Political advertising revenue: $30 million (+131%)
- Distribution revenue: $339 million (-11%)
- Other revenue: $18 million (-5%)
- Network affiliation fees: $197 million (-15%)
- Net income: -$20 million (compared to -$9 million)
- Total debt: $5.81 billion (no change)
- Read more Q1 2026 media earnings coverage
Gray Media reported lower revenue and a wider loss for the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, though political advertising and core ad sales helped offset pressure from retransmission revenue and subscriber declines.
During the first three months of the year, total revenue clocked in at $768 million, down 2 percent from $782 million during the same period last year. The result came in at the high end of Gray’s prior forecast, which called for revenue between $755 million and $770 million. Broadcasting revenue fell 2 percent to $739 million, while revenue from production companies rose 7 percent to $29 million.
Core advertising revenue increased 2 percent to $352 million, exceeding the company’s earlier expectation that the category would be roughly flat with the prior year. Political advertising revenue climbed sharply to $30 million, up 131 percent from $13 million in the first quarter of 2025. Gray said political revenue was at the high end of its guidance range.
“Our first quarter 2026 results were solid, with Core Advertising exceeding our guidance and Political revenue at the high end of our guidance range,” Hilton Howell Jr., Gray’s executive chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
Howell said a recently resolved dispute with a distribution partner affected net retransmission revenue during the quarter, but added that Gray now has “visibility” on full-year growth in the category after completing its scheduled 2026 retransmission negotiations.
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Retransmission consent revenue fell 11 percent to $339 million, compared with $379 million a year earlier. Gray attributed the decline primarily to continued subscriber losses, the transition of one Atlanta station to independent status and the distribution dispute. Net retransmission revenue, which subtracts network affiliation fees, declined 3 percent to $142 million.
Expenses were mixed. Total broadcasting expenses declined 4 percent to $555 million, helped by lower network affiliation fees, while corporate and administrative expenses rose 22 percent to $39 million. The company said corporate expenses were above guidance primarily because of transaction-related costs. Adjusted EBITDA declined 4 percent to $154 million.
Gray posted a net loss of $20 million, compared with a $9 million loss in the year-ago quarter. The loss attributable to common shareholders was $33 million, or 34 cents per share, compared with a loss of $22 million, or 23 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2025.
The company also noted recent media-related deals that secured regulatory approvals in recent months, including the acquisition of stations in seven markets from Allen Media Group for $115 million and stations in three markets from Block Communications for $80 million. Those deals closed over the past few weeks, and should be reflected on the company’s second quarter (Q2) earnings report later this year.
Howell said Gray is continuing to pursue strategic transactions while focusing on its balance sheet, local station strength and sports partnerships, including carriage of 19 Major League Baseball teams across 16 broadcast sports networks this year.
