Meredith’s Local Media Group Revenue Up 39% to $125 Million in Fiscal First Quarter

By Aneya Fernando 

meredith_1Meredith Corp.’s Local Media Group has reason to celebrate. According to a new report, the company’s 15 local television stations generated $125 million in total revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, which is up 39% from the same period a year ago.

The uptick was fueled in part by political advertising, digital ads and the company’s recent acquisition of KMOV in St. Louis and KTVK in Phoenix.

Here’s a more detailed look at the Local Media Group’s first quarter performance, compared to last year:

Advertisement
  • Total advertising revenues increased 43 percent to $93 million, a first quarter record
  • Political advertising revenues were $13 million
  • Non-political advertising revenues grew 24 percent to $80 million, benefiting from the recent acquisitions and strong digital advertising revenue performance
  • Other revenues and operating expenses both increased, due primarily to growth in retransmission revenues from cable and satellite television operators and higher programming fees paid to affiliated networks

Meredith Local Media Group president Paul Karpowicz was certainly happy with the results. “This was our first full quarter operating both KTVK in Phoenix and KMOV in St. Louis, and they are great additions to the Meredith portfolio,” He said. “We were also very pleased to see political advertising strengthen as the quarter progressed.”

You can view the full report, with details on Meredith’s National Media Group and more, here.

Advertisement