E W Scripps 1Q Revenue Up on Political Advertising Push, Begins Public Process for Sale of Bounce TV

By Sabela Ojea

E.W. Scripps said revenue rose in the latest quarter, backed by higher political campaign spending, and it has begun a public process to sell its Bounce television network.

The Cincinnati, Ohio, broadcaster on Thursday posted a first-quarter loss attributable to shareholders of $12.8 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with a loss of $31.1 million, or 37 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 6.4% to $561.5 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast revenue of $568.7 million. The company said its topline performance was boosted by gains from local media political advertising and distribution revenues and a lift in direct-response advertising in the Scripps Networks division.

"Local political is coming on strong," Chief Executive Adam Symson said. "We also are seeing green shoots in the national direct response advertising marketplace while scatter market pricing improved in the first quarter of 2024 over the first quarter of 2023."

The company said it now believes its 2024 election-year political advertising revenue will reach $240 million to $270 million, up from a prior outlook of $210 million to $250 million.

The increased outlook is a result of U.S. Senate races in Montana and Ohio, as well as controversial ballot issues in several states, E.W. Scripps said.

"We expect to benefit from robust political advertising, the early signs of recovery in parts of the national advertising marketplace, and our expected increase in revenue from the stability we've seen in the pay TV ecosystem," Symson said.

The pursued sale of Bounce TV network, aimed at Black audiences and acquired in 2017, comes after receiving significant inbound interest from potential strategic buyers, Symson said. For the first quarter, Bounce was up 14% on linear platforms, while most other linear viewership was down, the executive added.

Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 09, 2024 17:14 ET (21:14 GMT)

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