Tribune Media Reports Income Down, Revenue Up

Tribune Media posted a third-quarter net income of $27.9 million on increased revenues but fell short of analysts' expectations, according to The Chicago Tribune.

Net income was 29 cents per share, down from 53 cents for continuing operations during the same quarter in 2014, the Chicago-based company reported Tuesday.

Revenue grew 3 percent to $489 million, driven by increased fees paid by cable and satellite providers to carry Tribune Media's local TV stations and national cable channel WGN America.

Some Wall Street analysts had projected earnings of 31 cents per share on revenue of $491 million, according to Zacks Investment Research. Others surveyed by Yahoo Finance had estimated a net income of 29 cents per share but higher revenues of $494 million.

Peter Liguori

“Our solid third quarter results reflect the consistent focus we have on our long-term growth strategies,” said president and CEO Peter Liguori.

“We delivered growth across all our key revenue streams – advertising, carriage fees and retransmission fees — and converted WGN America to a basic cable network 18 months ahead of our initial schedule.

“We see clear and compelling evidence that sports and news programming, especially in major markets, continues to accelerate the growth of our local station business,” he continued. “Our investment in high-quality original content is driving revenue growth now via increased carriage fees for WGN America and is expected to do so in the future through a series of distribution platforms.

Tribune Media's stock price has fallen by about a third this year.