Broadcasting company Tegna saw milestone achievements across revenue and income for its Q1 2022 earnings. Having renewed a couple of notable carriage agreements, Tegna maintains a healthy financial outlook before it’s handed off to Standard General – expected to acquire Tegna sometime in the second half of this year.
Tegna reported a first quarter record revenue at $774 million, up 6% year-over-year. Net income jumped from $113 million to $134 million in that same period.
Subscription revenue went up to $392 million, a 1% year-over-year increase partially offset by Tegna’s dispute with Dish Network last year. Dish and Tegna were unable to agree to new terms for a carriage renewal in October – resulting in nearly 3 million Dish customers losing access to Tegna station coverage. The companies reached a revised deal in February. Tegna resolved a similar dispute with cable operator Mediacom earlier this year.
With regards to advertising, Tegna saw advertising and marketing services (AMS) revenue shoot up to $354 million, a 10% year-over-year increase. AMS revenue was driven by Winter Olympics and Super Bowl coverage on Tegna’s NBC stations as well as by Premion – Tegna’s one-stop-shop OTT advertising platform for regional and local advertisers.
Standard General announced plans to acquire Tegna in February, valuing the company at $8.6 billion. Tegna shareholders will convene on May 17 to approve the transaction, which is also subject to regulatory approval.
Headquartered in Virginia, Tegna owns 64 broadcast stations across 51 U.S. markets. It recently revamped its streaming apps for each station, offering 24-7 coverage for those channels.