Tag: E.W. Scripps

Tuesday, November 05, 2024

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of 61 stations in 41 markets. The Scripps Networks reach nearly every American through the national news outlets Court TV and Newsy and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Defy TV, Grit, ION Mystery, Laff and TrueReal. Scripps is the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Equity Research Analyst, Digital, Media & Technology , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Jacob Mutchler, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Solid Q3 results. The company reported revenue of $646.3 million and adj. EBITDA of $176.8 million, both of which were record highs. Notably, the quarter was driven by strong political revenue of $125.2 million, which exceeded expectations. Furthermore, the company was able to capitalize on the influx of high-margin political revenue and pay down $115 million of debt in the quarter.

Record political advertising. The company generated $125.2 million in political revenue for Q3, a record high, and increased its full year political revenue guidance from $270 million – $290 million to a minimum of $340 million. The company’s increased 2024 political revenue guidance reflects a roughly 30% increase over its highest political advertising year, 2020.

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Equity Research is available at no cost to Registered users of Channelchek. Not a Member? Click ‘Join’ to join the Channelchek Community. There is no cost to register, and we never collect credit card information.

This Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision. 

Monday, May 13, 2024

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of 61 stations in 41 markets. The Scripps Networks reach nearly every American through the national news outlets Court TV and Newsy and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Defy TV, Grit, ION Mystery, Laff and TrueReal. Scripps is the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Equity Research Analyst, Digital, Media & Technology , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Jacob Mutchler, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Solid Q1 results. Q1 Revenue of $561.5 million was modestly below our estimate of $571.0 million by 1.7%. Adj. EBITDA  in the quarter of $91.8 million beat our estimate of $82.9 million by 10.7% . Notably, Q1 adj. EBITDA benefited from $15.2 million in high margin Political advertising, which was substantially higher than our estimate of $6.5 million, and from earlier cost reductions.

Raising political guide. Given the strong political advertising in Q1, management increased full year 2024 political advertising revenue guide from a range of $210 million to $250 million to a range of $240 million to $270 million. The very high margin (85% to 90%) Political advertising will allow the company to pare down debt.

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Equity Research is available at no cost to Registered users of Channelchek. Not a Member? Click ‘Join’ to join the Channelchek Community. There is no cost to register, and we never collect credit card information.

This Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision. 

Friday, May 10, 2024

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of 61 stations in 41 markets. The Scripps Networks reach nearly every American through the national news outlets Court TV and Newsy and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Defy TV, Grit, ION Mystery, Laff and TrueReal. Scripps is the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Equity Research Analyst, Digital, Media & Technology , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Jacob Mutchler, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Favorable Q1 results. Revenues were a little lighter than what we were looking for at $561.5 million versus our $571.0 estimate, but adj. EBITDA was better than expected. Adj. EBITDA benefited from stronger than expected high margin Political advertising, $15.2 million versus our $6.5 million estimate. As such, adj. EBITDA of $91.8 million was better than our $82.9 million estimate. 

Raises Political guide. Given the Political advertising strength, management raised full year 2024 Political advertising revenue guide from $210 million to $250 million to a range of $240 million to $270 million. Our previous estimate was $225 million. Notably, the high end of the range would exceed that of the last presidential election cycle in 2020 at $265 million. 

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Equity Research is available at no cost to Registered users of Channelchek. Not a Member? Click ‘Join’ to join the Channelchek Community. There is no cost to register, and we never collect credit card information.

This Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of 61 stations in 41 markets. The Scripps Networks reach nearly every American through the national news outlets Court TV and Newsy and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Defy TV, Grit, ION Mystery, Laff and TrueReal. Scripps is the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Equity Research Analyst, Digital, Media & Technology , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Jacob Mutchler, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Potential Bounce TV sale. The company appears to be currently shopping its Over The Air (OTA) network Bounce TV, a network geared towards African American audiences. The sale of the Network, which would be viewed favorably, could take some of the pressure off of the company’s high debt leverage. Notably, CEO Adam Symson indicated that a deal could take place in the second or third quarter of this year. 

Strategic interest? There are a number of networks and programming companies that are focused on the attractive African American audience and could be strategic buyers for Bounce. We estimate that Bounce has shown attractive growth over the past several years, doubling in revenue since it purchased the network in 2017 to over $150 million in revenue in 2023. We estimate a potential selling price could be between $165 million to $225 million, or 1.1 to 1.5 times revenues.

Get the Full Report

Equity Research is available at no cost to Registered users of Channelchek. Not a Member? Click ‘Join’ to join the Channelchek Community. There is no cost to register, and we never collect credit card information.

This Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision. 

Monday, February 26, 2024

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of 61 stations in 41 markets. The Scripps Networks reach nearly every American through the national news outlets Court TV and Newsy and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Defy TV, Grit, ION Mystery, Laff and TrueReal. Scripps is the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Equity Research Analyst, Digital, Media & Technology , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Jacob Mutchler, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Exceeds Q4 estimates. Q4 was solid, beating our revenue estimate by 3.8% and our adj. EBITDA estimate by 13.4%. Revenues were down 9.6% to $615.8 million due to the absence of year earlier Political and weak National advertising. Recent cost initiatives allowed the company to improve adj. EBITDA margins to 19.1% versus our 17.5% estimate.

Improving advertising trends. The company reported a 1% increase in Core advertising with a favorable outlook of flat to up 1% for the upcoming quarter. Furthermore, its Network business appears to be on the mend, with significantly higher (30%) scatter prices heading into an upfront season. Lastly, management provided guidance for Political that was higher than our estimate to a range of $210 million to $250 million. 

Get the Full Report

Equity Research is available at no cost to Registered users of Channelchek. Not a Member? Click ‘Join’ to join the Channelchek Community. There is no cost to register, and we never collect credit card information.

This Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision. 

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of 61 stations in 41 markets. The Scripps Networks reach nearly every American through the national news outlets Court TV and Newsy and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Defy TV, Grit, ION Mystery, Laff and TrueReal. Scripps is the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Equity Research Analyst, Digital, Media & Technology , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Jacob Mutchler, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Noblecon19. On December 4th, management presented at Noblecon19 at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, Florida, to the investment community. The fireside chat presentation conducted by Lisa Knutson, Chief Operating Officer, highlighted the dynamic value proposition of Scripps Sports, favorable retransmission trends, implications of the Disney/Charter deal and green shoots in advertising. A replay of the presentation can be viewed here: https://www.channelchek.com/videos/e-w-scripps-noblecon19-replay. 

Favorable sports model. Scripps Sports employs a unique model that offers sports teams wider viewership than the traditional Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) model that is now failing. Management indicated that its two NHL sports licenses for the Arizona Coyotes and the Vegas Golden Knights will account for a 4% point increase in its core advertising in Q4 and 3% for full year 2024.

Get the Full Report

Equity Research is available at no cost to Registered users of Channelchek. Not a Member? Click ‘Join’ to join the Channelchek Community. There is no cost to register, and we never collect credit card information.

This Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision. 

Monday, August 07, 2023

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of 61 stations in 41 markets. The Scripps Networks reach nearly every American through the national news outlets Court TV and Newsy and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Defy TV, Grit, ION Mystery, Laff and TrueReal. Scripps is the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Equity Research Analyst, Digital, Media & Technology , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Jacob Mutchler, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Beats expectations. The company reported a solid second quarter, beating both our revenue and adj. EBITDA estimates. Total company revenues decreased a modest 2.0% to $582.8 million, versus our $572.5 million estimate. Combined with the revenue improvement and the lower expenses, adj. EBITDA of $120.9 million was well above our $90 million estimate. 

Is the worst behind us? The upside revenue variance was due to stronger than expected National Media revenues, $231.2 million versus our $217.0 million estimate. The latest results marked a sequential quarterly improvement from a Q1 decline of 9.5% to a more modest 3.2% decline in Q2. While Q3 guidance is not as hopeful, management indicated that scatter prices are improving for its Network business. 

Get the Full Report

Equity Research is available at no cost to Registered users of Channelchek. Not a Member? Click ‘Join’ to join the Channelchek Community. There is no cost to register, and we never collect credit card information.

This Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision. 

Monday, May 08, 2023

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of 61 stations in 41 markets. The Scripps Networks reach nearly every American through the national news outlets Court TV and Newsy and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Defy TV, Grit, ION Mystery, Laff and TrueReal. Scripps is the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Equity Research Analyst, Digital, Media & Technology , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Patrick McCann, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Solid Q1 results. The company reported quarterly revenue of $527.8 million, in-line with our estimate of $531.5 million. Adj. EBITDA of $75.9 million in the quarter was 6% lower than our estimate of $80.8 million, attributed to lower than expected stock based compensation. 

Favorable retransmission renewal. The company renewed 26% of its pay TV households in Q1, with a total of 75% of pay TV households up for renewal this year. As such, we expect strong Retrans revenue growth of 14% which should offset some of the headwinds from weak National and Direct Response advertising. Retransmission revenue is expected to be 50% of TV revenue and 30% of ttotal company revenue in 2023.

Get the Full Report

Equity Research is available at no cost to Registered users of Channelchek. Not a Member? Click ‘Join’ to join the Channelchek Community. There is no cost to register, and we never collect credit card information.

This Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision.