Bolstered by a rise in retransmission and ad revenue, Gray Television hit a record $222 million in revenue during the second quarter of 2017, the company reported Tuesday.
That figure is a 15% increase from Q2 2016, Gray said. It includes includes $69 million in retransmission consent revenue, up 37% year-over-year. Local ad revenue, including digital, rose 13% to $117.9 million, while national ad money rose 19% to $31 million.
Gray also reported record net income of $70.6 million, broadcast cash flow of $93.2 million and free cash flow of $55.9 million.
Related: Media General Merger Drives Nexstar Q2 Rev Up 139%
Excluding revenue generated by acquisitions since Q2 2016, Gray reported revenue increasing $3.1 million year-over-year. That figure results from a $9.8 million increase in retransmission money being mitigated by a $6.4 million decrease in political advertising.
Other highlights of the quarter include the following M&A activity:
- Striking a $26.5 million deal to buy CBS affiliate WDTV and Fox/CW affiliate WVFX in Clarksburg, West Virginia
- Completing the acquisition of WABI, the CBS affiliate in Bangor, Maine, and WCJB, the ABC affiliate in Gainesville, Fla., for a total of $85 million.
- An agreement to buy CBS affiliate WCAX Burlington, Vt. For $29 million, which was completed on Aug. 1
The group said it expects a low to mid-single digit percent increase in ad revenue during Q3, excluding money generated by last year’s Olympics.
(Photo via Pictures of Money's Flickr. Image taken on Sept. 9, 2016 and used per Creative Commons 2.0 license. The photo was cropped to fit 16x9 aspect ratio.)
