Key Financial Data
- Q3 Total revenue: $544.9 million (+3.6% year-over)
- Operating income: $67.3 million (+78.9%)
- Net income: $37.7 million (compared to $33 million loss)
- Total operating expenses: $477.6 million (-2.2%)
- Local Media revenue: $372.8 million (+14.5%)
- Local Media core advertising revenue: $111.1 million (-15.6%)
- Local Media total advertising revenue: $191.7 million (+40.2%)
- Local Media distribution revenue: $178 million (-4.2%)
- Local Media segment profit: $117.6 million (+122.6%)
- Local Media adjusted combined core advertising revenue: $111.1 million (-12.9%)
- Local Media adjusted combined political advertising revenue: $80.6 million (compared to $5.3 million)
- Scripps Networks revenue: $173 million (-13.9%)
- Scripps Networks segment expenses: $140 million (-5.2%)
- Scripps Networks programming expenses: $83.8 million (-3.5%)
- Other segment revenue: $3 million (-28.5%)
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Judging by all the job cuts at the E. W. Scripps Company over the past few weeks, you’d never know the broadcaster had a financially-lucrative quarter.
On Thursday, the broadcaster said healthy political advertising spend across its local TV stations helped the company earn $37.7 million in profit off $544.9 million in revenue as headcount reductions and an overall restructuring of its business operations helped the company cut down on expenses.
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Political advertising contributed significantly to the company’s results, generating $82.6 million during the quarter, compared with $5.5 million in the prior-year period. Through Election Day, Scripps reported $284 million in full-year political advertising revenue within its Local Media division, an increase of 44 percent compared with the 2022 midterm election cycle.
The division, which includes Scripps’ local television stations, generated $372.8 million in quarterly revenue, up 14.5 percent. Segment profit increased to $117.6 million from $52.8 million. Core advertising revenue declined 15.6 percent to $111.1 million, which Scripps attributed partly to political advertising displacing commercial inventory.
Distribution revenue fell 4.2 percent to $178 million, reflecting the sale of two television stations earlier this year and a temporary service interruption during carriage negotiations with DIRECTV. Scripps said the DIRECTV dispute reduced third-quarter distribution revenue by approximately $3.8 million, becoming the latest broadcaster to admit that prolonged programming disruptions on cable and satellite TV blemishes the balance sheet.
On an adjusted basis accounting for the sale of Court TV, Scripps Networks revenue declined 11.1 percent, while segment profit decreased 41 percent. Connected TV revenue increased 37 percent during the quarter and expects the business to generate approximately $155 million in revenue for the full year.
Despite the wins across its financial report, Scripps said more work needs to be done. The company continues to pay down a sizable amount of debt associated with its blockbuster purchase of national TV network Ion several years ago. To address that debt, the company implemented deep job cuts affecting hundreds of workers, leading to a 20 percent reduction in headcount. (Last week, Scripps said it was done with layoffs for now.)
By the end of the year, Scripps said it expects to see roughly $100 million in cost savings by laying off workers and restructuring business units across its operations. The restructuring includes reorganizing local newsrooms around broadcast, streaming and digital distribution, with increased use of artificial intelligence and automation to produce and adapt news content across platforms.
Scripps has also identified more than 70 revenue initiatives intended to support its broader goal of generating $125 million to $150 million in additional annual enterprise EBITDA by 2028 through cost savings and revenue growth. Adam Symson, the company’s CEO, receives a bonus of between $6 million and $15 million if he reaches those EBITDA goals before the expiration of his contract in 2029, according to financial disclosure records reviewed by The Desk.
“Our goal is to ensure Scripps remains a strong media company positioned to serve our communities and preserve local journalism by adapting to how Americans consume news and information,” Symson said in a statement. “In part aided by technology, our teams are producing more reporting from the field, deepening our community news coverage and expanding our reach to audiences across broadcast, streaming, digital and social platforms while improving the segment profit of our business.”
Scripps does not hold a conference call with executives until the morning after its earnings report is released.
