U.S. media conglomerates with TV stations in their portfolios saw ad revenues rise in the three months ended Sept 30, driven by strong ad sales for the 2018 midterm elections. The elections and the heightened political climate are expected to benefit the final reporting period of the year.
Christina Spade, executive vice president and CFO of CBS Corp., said fourth-quarter local media revenue was on pace to be in "the high teens," stemming mostly from the election cycle. Joe Ianniello, president and interim CEO, said on the company’s earnings call that 2018 could be "a record-setting year" for the stations relative to political ad spending, even surpassing presidential cycles.
CBS' third-quarter ad revenues reached $1.26 billion, with U.S. ad sales up 4% overall. The company is on track to tally about $4 billion in network advertising in 2018, a level consistent with prior years, according to Spade.
NBCUniversal Media LLC CEO and President Steve Burke on parent Comcast Corp.'s earnings call said that "the advertising market is very strong." He noted that NBCU scored its best upfront advertising sales ever for the 2018-2019 TV season and that the scatter market pricing for current-season inventory is up "very substantially" in part due to a "very, very strong political season."
21st Century Fox Inc. posted a 9.2% rise in advertising to $1.77 billion in the first quarter of its fiscal 2019. The television segment registered a 22% ad revenue advance, reflective of higher political ad sales at owned stations. The company is awaiting the closing of Walt Disney Co.'s acquisition of most of its assets, with the remaining company, New Fox, emerging as a U.S.-centric news- and sports-focused entity
During the final quarter of its fiscal 2018, Disney saw ad sales retreat 5.1% to $1.58 billion. ABC (US) ad revenues were comparable to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 as higher rates and an increase in political advertising at the owned-television stations were offset by lower impressions.
Ad revenue at sports programmer ESPN (US) declined 6% in the quarter from a decrease in average viewership and lower units delivered. Disney Senior Executive Vice President and CFO Christine McCarthy on the company's earnings call said that ESPN's cash ad sales were pacing up compared to the prior-year period and reflect, in part, a shift in the timing of the college football semifinals.
Improved ratings and increased pricing drove a 5.2% in advertising revenue growth for Discovery Inc.'s U.S. networks on a pro forma basis to $990 million. CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said that U.S. ad sales at the legacy Discovery networks rose 8%, while ad sales for the Scripps Networks Interactive services, which were officially acquired in March, improved 5%. Conversely, ad sales declined at OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (US), owing to a ratings shortfall.
Sizing up the fourth quarter, Wiedenfels anticipates a 3% to 5% gain in U.S. ad sales, behind continued strong linear pricing, the monetization of digital assets and further expansion with the company GO apps.
In the first full quarter under AT&T Inc.'s aegis, advertising revenue at the Turner networks slid 3.7% to $944 million. CFO John Stephens on the company's earnings call said that "domestic ad revenues declined in the low single digits, owing to lower delivery across various Turner Networks, primarily for kids and young adults."
At Viacom Inc., advertising declined 6.3% to $1.15 billion in the final quarter of its fiscal 2018, with U.S. sales down 4% to $896.0 million, while international ad sales decreased 10% to $251.0 million.
The company was encouraged by the performance of its Advanced Marketing Solutions offering, which recorded a 21% rise in advanced ad sales. For the full year, AMS-driven ad sales reached $343 million or 10% of its overall ad revenue.
"This pace is only accelerating, and we expect it to run in the range of 15% to 20% for fiscal 2019," Viacom President and CEO Bob Bakish said on the company's earnings call.