Both Gray and Tegna reported their stock earnings and it was good news for one, and not so good for the other.

Gray reported that earning were up and they are happy with how the first quarter has gone. “Our core advertising business has more than fully recovered from the pandemic, with core advertising revenues 3% higher in the first quarter of 2024 than the corresponding quarter of the pre-pandemic year of 2019.”

Tegna reported their earnings down and said that advertising is soft on the national level. “Advertising and marketing services (AMS) revenue was $299 million in the first quarter, down 3% year-over-year. While national advertising showed softness, local advertising trends in the first quarter showed positive growth reflected in strong performance in automotive, services, entertainment, restaurants, banking and finance categories.

When it comes to gouging viewers on retransmission fees, Tegna says the revenue is down. “Subscription revenue was $375 million in the first quarter, down 9% year-over-year, primarily due to subscriber declines…”

Yep, you keep gouging the customer and they cut the cord, no one could have seen that coming.