• by Wayne Friedman , May 8, 2019

Nexstar Media Group posted lower first-quarter revenues in comparison to the year-ago period, when its NBC affiliates aired the Winter Olympics.

Total TV advertising revenue declined 6% to $253.1 million. But distribution revenue -- from carriage by pay TV providers for its TV stations -- was up 14% to $314 million. Also going lower was digital revenue -- sinking 16% -- to $52.8 million.

Zack Silver, media analyst at B.Riley FBR, says advertising revenues came in lower than expected -- especially looking at core advertising and digital revenues.

Core advertising -- sans the Winter Olympics advertising -- was down 3%. Estimates were core advertisers could see a 1% hike in the period.

Nexstar says the 3.3% decline reflecting about $20 million of Winter Olympics net revenue recorded in the comparable 2018 period.

Overall revenue was up 5% to $644 million, with net income growing to 20% to $56.9 million. In December, Nexstar announced a $6.4 billion deal to buy Tribune Media.

Nexstar stock traded up 1.4% to $111.65 in early Wednesday trading.

Nexstar has 174 television stations and 114 community websites across 100, mostly midsize markets, covering almost 39% of all U.S. TV homes.