Meredith, which owns 12 stations across the country, announced its second quarter earnings today, reporting a 13.5% drop in revenue for its local media group.
Meredith’s local unit took in $84 million for the period, compared to $97 million for its Q2 last year. The company attributes the decline to a decrease in political advertising compared to a year ago–Meredith recorded $21 million less of political advertising revenue for the quarter.
Non-political advertising revenues rose 9% in the second quarter, with Meredith’s stations in Atlanta (WGCL), Hartford (WFSB), Las Vegas (KVVU), and Portland (KPTV) performing the best.
“Once again we were able to drive industry-leading performance in non-political advertising revenues through our very strong connection to local viewers,” Meredith chairman and CEO Stephen Lacy said.
“It was the second-best performance for a non-political second quarter in Meredith’s history, and November 2011 was one of our strongest rating books in the last decade,” he added. “Television continues to be the most powerful medium to deliver customers to local businesses and service providers.”
The full press release is available here.