• by Sara Guaglione , April 27, 2020

Verizon Media revenues were down 4% year-over-year in the first quarter, a loss “driven almost entirely by COVID-19 impacts,” according to the company.

That brings Verizon’s media division’s Q1 revenue to $1.7 billion.

Verizon Media operates brands like Yahoo!, AOL, HuffPost and TechCrunch.

While the company says Verizon Media experienced “increased levels of customer engagement on its platforms” in the first quarter, advertising rates “have declined in the current environment.”

"Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, year-over-year revenue trends continued the steady improvement seen in full-year 2019.”

While publishers are clocking record traffic online, most media companies are struggling to mitigate losses in ad revenue amid the pandemic.

Nearly all 200 respondents (U.S. publishers, programmatic companies and media platforms) in a recent IAB survey said they expect a decrease in revenue in 2020.

A few weeks ago, Verizon Media announced it would support mental- and public-health response efforts to COVID-19 through a $10 million donation in advertising inventory. 

The company wants to raise awareness and resources for mental-health organizations that support diverse and vulnerable populations affected by the crisis. 

That includes LGBTQ youth, hourly-wage workers and families struggling with mental-health disorders.