The CW Losses Decline By $50M In Q1, But Parent Nexstar Flags Concern About A National TV Ad Sector That Is “Not In A Positive Place”

deadline.com:

The CW‘s losses fell by $50 million in the first quarter and parent Nexstar Media Group still expects the network to turn a profit by next year, but CFO Lee Ann Gliha offered investors some reason for caution. “We’re no longer going to externally disclose the CW numbers separately,” the exec said during the Nexstar first-quarter earnings call when asked about the network’s revenue trends.

Since Nexstar took its 75% stake in 2022, she continued, “the quarter-over-quarter comparison is good. I would say just anecdotally it’s still driven by the national advertising market, which is not in a positive place even despite the green shoots.” Excluding political spending, advertising declined 7% in the quarter ended March 31 compared with the same period in 2023, the company said.

The negative effect of the high-interest-rate environment, among other challenges, took the blame for the dip. Total revenue inched up 2% to $1.28 billion, roughly in line with Wall Street forecasts, while earnings per share came in well ahead of expectations, at $5.16 compared with $2.97 in the year-ago quarter.

The $50 million reduction in losses at The CW represents about half of the projected $100 million in loss reduction for all of 2024, execs said, with the slowdown in the latter half of the year chalked up to various cyclical factors.