The E.W. Scripps Co. reported a profitable quarter Thursday, even as it cut jobs and restructured operations to reduce costs.
The broadcaster earned $37.7 million on revenue of $544.9 million. Strong political advertising at its local television stations helped drive the results, generating $82.6 million during the quarter, up from $5.5 million a year earlier.
Scripps reported $284 million in political advertising revenue for its Local Media division through Election Day, a 44% increase from the 2022 midterm election cycle.
Local Media revenue rose 14.5% to $372.8 million. Segment profit more than doubled, to $117.6 million from $52.8 million. Core advertising revenue fell 15.6% to $111.1 million, which the company partly attributed to political ads taking up commercial inventory.
Distribution revenue declined 4.2% to $178 million. Scripps cited the sale of two television stations earlier this year and a temporary service interruption during carriage negotiations with DirecTV. The dispute reduced third-quarter distribution revenue by about $3.8 million, the company said.
Scripps Networks revenue fell 11.1% on an adjusted basis that accounts for the sale of Court TV. Segment profit declined 41%.
Revenue from connected TV rose 37% during the quarter. Scripps expects the business to generate about $155 million in revenue for the full year.