• by Wayne Friedman , May 10, 2023

TV station group Tegna posted subscription revenue gains of 6% year-over-year to $414 million, but its advertising business remains weak.

Advertising revenue was down 13% -- largely due to comparisons with the lack of Winter Olympics and Super Bowl at its NBC affiliates. But revenue was also off 5% versus 2021 during the same period.

The company pointed to current economic and marketplace issues this year as factors.

Tegna's revenue is down 5% from the first quarter of 2021. That year, CBS aired the Super Bowl, versus this year's record-breaking Super Bowl viewing on Fox.

Tegna's total revenue for the quarter were down 4% versus the year-ago period, with adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) down 18% to $205 million. The company attributes this to reduced political ad spend as well as the lack of Super Bowl and Winter Olympic ad spending this year.

Tegna’s Premion -- its locally focused streaming TV advertising sales unit -- continues to see “strong growth,” according to the company. It did not provide specific details.

Premion looks to provide extra reach for local TV-based advertisers, with the company saying it reaches more than 78% of U.S. households via Tegna and TV station group, Gray Television local salesforce.

Mid-day trading of Tegna’s stock was up 0.5% to $15.95.