Gray Television reported higher third-quarter profits as its stations garnered $128 million in political ad revenue.
Net income rose to $109 million, or $1.15 a share, from $46 million, or 46 cents a share, a year ago.
Revenue rose to $604 million from $517 million.
Local ad revenue was $188 million, down 14% from a year ago and national advertising was $49 million, down 13%.
The company said $128 million in political ad revenue, up from $22 million a year ago.
Retransmission consent payments rose 11% to $217 million and retransmission expense rose 19% to $125 million.
“The impact of the novel Coronavirus and its disease on economic activity continued to impact our revenues and results for the third quarter and nine-months ended September 30, 2020,” the company said. “Despite these macroeconomic challenges, we increased our cash on hand by $88 million in the third quarter and repurchased $10 million of our common stock.”
