CHELMSFORD, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2023 / Harte Hanks, Inc. (HHS), a leading global customer experience company, today announced it is working with leading kitchen, bath, and outdoor retailer PIRCH on a series of lead generation and integrated direct marketing initiatives in Southern California.
Harte Hanks will provide PIRCH with a series of targeted communications to reach and engage shoppers at key moments in the home remodeling journey.
Harte Hanks first identified potential PIRCH customers using strategic demographics surrounding the company’s target luxury audience. Armed with this data, direct mail formats will be tested to determine a continuous marketing cadence.
“Nobody knows direct marketing like Harte Hanks,” noted Gene Hodges, VP Marketing, PIRCH. I have worked with them for many years including my time at The Home Depot and Bed, Bath & Beyond. Their expertise in strategy, customer profiling, creative, fulfillment and analytics is unrivaled. Partnering with them means we can launch our campaigns in record time with a team that will guide us through the entire process.”
Janel Harris, Managing Director, Harte Hanks Marketing Services added “PIRCH sets the standard for exceptional customer experience. We’re honored to provide them with turnkey services to help them identify, reach, and secure new customers as they turn dream-home projects into reality.”
About PIRCH:
Founded in 2009, PIRCH is a privately held fixture and appliance retailer for kitchen, bath and outdoor products based in San Diego, CA. The company operates seven Southern California showrooms and provides kitchen, bath, and outdoor design and installation from the world’s most coveted brands.PIRCH stores are experiential showrooms that allow consumers to explore appliances, plumbing fixtures, and hardware in lifestyle displays and envision how they would look and feel in their homes. Learn more at pirch.com.
About Harte Hanks:
Harte Hanks (Nasdaq:HHS) is a leading global customer experience company that partners with clients to provide them with CX strategy, data-driven analytics and actionable insights combined with seamless program execution to better understand, attract and engage their customers.
Using its resources and talent in the areas of Customer Care, Fulfillment, Logistics, and Marketing Services, Harte Hanks has driven results for some of the world’s premier brands, including Bank of America, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever, Pfizer, HBOMax, Volvo, Ford, FedEx, Midea, Sony and IBM. Headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Harte Hanks has over 2,500 employees in offices across the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. For more information, visit hartehanks.com.
Harte Hanks (NASDAQ: HHS) is a leading global customer experience company whose mission is to partner with clients to provide them with CX strategy, data-driven analytics and actionable insights combined with seamless program execution to better understand, attract, and engage their customers. Using its unparalleled resources and award-winning talent in the areas of Customer Care, Fulfillment and Logistics, and Marketing Services, Harte Hanks has a proven track record of driving results for some of the world’s premier brands including Bank of America, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever, Pfizer, HBOMax, Volvo, Ford, FedEx, Midea, Sony, and IBM among others. Headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts , Harte Hanks has over 2,500 employees in offices across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific .
Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, 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.
Q4 Preview. Fundamentals at the company appear favorable and Q4 revenue and adj. EBITDA estimates appear to be on target. We are adjusting our EPS estimate to reflect the repurchase of its convertible preferred shares with Wipro. The agreement was for liquidation value at $9.9 million, plus 100,000 HHS shares. Due to an accounting treatment, the company is expected to report a non cash $1.6 million loss on the repurchase. We are adjusting our Q4 EPS from $0.34 to $0.12 to reflect this charge.
Q1 Outlook. The company’s first quarter revenue mix is expected to skew toward lower margin revenue business, plus the company is expected to spend more heavily on technology investments and for the integration of a recent acquisition, InsideOut. Q1 revenues are expected to increase year over year, but Adj. EBITDA is expected to be lower.
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*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.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 19, 2023 / Engine Gaming and Media, Inc. (“Engine” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:GAME)(TSXV:GAME), a data-driven, gaming, media and influencer marketing platform company, today announced the Company has received notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market (“NASDAQ”) on January 19, 2023 informing Engine that it has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market. Consequently, Engine is now in compliance with all applicable listing standards and its common stock will continue to be listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market.
Engine was previously notified by NASDAQ on June 23, 2022 that it was not in compliance with the minimum bid price rule because its common stock failed to meet the closing bid price of $1.00 or more for 30 consecutive business days. In order to regain compliance with the Rule, the Company was required to maintain a minimum closing bid price of $1.00 or more for at least 10 consecutive trading days. This requirement was met on January 18, 2023, the tenth consecutive trading day when the closing bid price of the Company’s common stock was over $1.00.
About Engine Gaming and Media, Inc.
Engine Gaming and Media, Inc. (NASDAQ:GAME)(TSXV:GAME) provides unparalleled live streaming data and social analytics, influencer relationship management and monetization, and programmatic advertising to support the world’s largest video gaming companies, brand marketers, ecommerce companies, media publishers and agencies to drive new streams of revenue. The company’s subsidiaries include Stream Hatchet, the global leader in gaming video distribution analytics; Sideqik, a social influencer marketing discovery, analytics, and activation platform; and Frankly Media, a digital publishing platform used to create, distribute, and monetize content across all digital channels. Engine Gaming generates revenue through a combination of software-as-a-service subscription fees, managed services, and programmatic advertising. For more information, please visit www.enginegaming.com.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Engine to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. In respect of the forward-looking information contained herein, Engine has provided such statements and information in reliance on certain assumptions that management believed to be reasonable at the time. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements stated herein to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information contained in this news release.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Engine does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf, except as required by applicable law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Company Contact:
Lou Schwartz 647-725-7765
Investor Relations Contact:
Shannon Devine MZ North America Main: 203-741-8811 GAME@mzgroup.us
Brings More than 20 Years of Deep Advertising Industry Insights and Expertise to the Company
HOUSTON, Jan. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRCT) (“Direct Digital Holdings” or the “Company”), a leading advertising and marketing technology platform operating through its companies Colossus Media, LLC (“Colossus SSP”), Huddled Masses LLC (“Huddled Masses”) and Orange142, LLC (“Orange142”), today announced advertising industry pioneer Misty Locke is joining its Board of Directors. Locke, an award-winning marketer, brings more than 20 years of experience in digital, performance and brand marketing. Her appointment was effective January 16, 2023.
Locke joins the Direct Digital Holdings Board of Directors following a successful tenure as Chief Marketing Officer for industry leader Dentsu Media. Prior to that, Locke served in several senior executive positions for iProspect, including President of iProspect Americas, Global Chief Client Officer and Global Chief Marketing Officer. Locke transformed iProspect, a company that she helped grow through a merger in 2008 with her company, Range Online Media, from an SEO brand into the largest and most innovative digital media and performance agency in the world scaled across more than 90 markets with more than 8,000 media and performance specialists.
In her career, Locke has worked with some of the world’s most iconic brands, including General Motors, Adidas, NIKE, The GAP Brands, Microsoft, Estée Lauder Companies, Accor Hotels, Burberry, Heineken and Kering. She also received the e-Microsoft Bing “Lifetime Achievement” award, for her contribution to the digital advertising industry, and Fast Company listed her on its list of “25 Top Women Business Builders.”
“Direct Digital Holdings is very pleased to welcome Misty to our Board of Directors,” said Mark D. Walker, Direct Digital Holdings Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Misty brings a tremendous amount of industry insight and expertise to our company and will be a valuable asset for the senior leadership team and our strategic decision-making. Direct Digital Holdings is a pioneering force in the programmatic ad industry, and with Misty’s contributions, along with the dynamic leadership and breadth of experience offered by my fellow directors Tonie Leatherberry, Keith Smith and Richard Cohen, I am pleased with our fortified Board of Directors. Such bench strength will enable Direct Digital Holdings to continue to lead with a dynamic and inclusive approach, come up with innovative solutions for brands of all sizes and use advanced technology solutions for our tailored digital strategies.”
“Direct Digital Holdings has seen strong and resilient growth in a time where the industry overall is facing significant disruption and headwinds,” added Locke. “I look forward to supporting the company’s continued expansion and joining a pioneering team delivering leading digital advertising solutions for clients and especially those in multicultural communities.”
Her appointment to the Direct Digital Holdings Board of Directors comes less than a year after the Company listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. She joins other outside board members, including Ms. Leatherberry and Mr. Cohen.
Locke graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor’s Degree in Corporate Communications.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and which are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties.
As used below, “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Direct Digital Holdings. We use words such as “could,” “would,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “expect,” “likely,” “believe,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project” and other similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, but not all forward-looking statements include these words. All statements contained in this release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements.
All of our forward-looking statements involve estimates and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that we have made in light of our industry experience and our perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, many factors could affect our actual operating and financial performance and cause our performance to differ materially from the performance expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: our dependence on the overall demand for advertising, which could be influenced by economic downturns; any slow-down or unanticipated development in the market for programmatic advertising campaigns; the effects of health epidemics, such as the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic; operational and performance issues with our platform, whether real or perceived, including a failure to respond to technological changes or to upgrade our technology systems; any significant inadvertent disclosure or breach of confidential and/or personal information we hold, or of the security of our or our customers’, suppliers’ or other partners’ computer systems; any unavailability or non-performance of the non-proprietary technology, software, products and services that we use; unfavorable publicity and negative public perception about our industry, particularly concerns regarding data privacy and security relating to our industry’s technology and practices, and any perceived failure to comply with laws and industry self-regulation; restrictions on the use of third-party “cookies,” mobile device IDs or other tracking technologies, which could diminish our platform’s effectiveness; any inability to compete in our intensely competitive market; any significant fluctuations caused by our high customer concentration; any violation of legal and regulatory requirements or any misconduct by our employees, subcontractors, agents or business partners; any strain on our resources, diversion of our management’s attention or impact on our ability to attract and retain qualified board members as a result of being a public company; our dependence, as a holding company, of receiving distributions from Direct Digital Holdings, LLC to pay our taxes, expenses and dividends; and other factors and assumptions discussed in the “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations” and other sections of our filings with the SEC that we make from time to time. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of these assumptions prove to be incorrect, our actual operating and financial performance may vary in material respects from the performance projected in these forward-looking statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained in this release to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances, and we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
About Direct Digital Holdings
Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT), owner of operating companies Colossus SSP, Huddled Masses, and Orange 142, brings state-of-the-art sell- and buy-side advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell-side platform, Colossus SSP, offers advertisers of all sizes extensive reach within general market and multicultural media properties. The company’s subsidiaries Huddled Masses and Orange142 deliver significant ROI for middle market advertisers by providing data-optimized programmatic solutions at scale for businesses in sectors that range from energy to healthcare to travel to financial services. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell- and buy-side solutions manage approximately 90,000 clients monthly, generating over 100 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels. Direct Digital Holdings is the ninth black-owned company to go public in the U.S and was named a top minority-owned business by The Houston Business Journal.
The S&P 500 increased by 7% during the fourth quarter of 2022, marking the first time the Index had increased since fourth quarter of 2021. We also saw signs of life in two of Noble’s Internet and Digital Media Indices: Noble’s eSports and iGaming Index increased (+13%) and outperformed the broader market (which we define as the S&P 500) while Noble’s MarTech Index also increased (+6%), roughly in-line with the market. This marked the second quarter in a row in which the eSports and iGaming Index not only increased but significantly outperformed the broader market, following several quarters of underperformance. Laggards during the fourth quarter were Noble’s Digital Media Index (-5%), Social Media Index (-7%) and Ad Tech Index (-20%).
Noble Indices are market cap weighted, and we attribute the relative strength of the eSports and iGaming Index to its largest constituent, Flutter Entertainment (ISE: FLTR). Flutter shares finished the year at $127.80, down only 8% from the start of the year, despite trading as low as $76 per share in mid-July. Investors appear to appreciate Flutter’s FanDuel business and its market leading position and competitive advantage, something that Flutter management highlighted during a November Investor Day. Management also laid out a case to increase U.S. revenues by 5x and achieve margins of 25%-30% implying EBITDA of up to $5 billion in 8 years-time, quadruple its levels today. Despite the overall strength of the eSports and iGaming Index, share price gains within the sector were not widely dispersed. Only 3 of the 16 stocks in eSports and iGaming sector finished the quarter up, including Engine Gaming and Media (GAME, +71%) and SportRadar Group (SRAD; +13%).
Noble’s MarTech Index increased by 6% with 11 of the 22 stocks in the index posting gains, led by Yext (YEXT; +46%), Shopify (SHOP; +29%), LiveRamp (RAMP; +29%) and Adobe (ADBE; +22%). This marks significant improvement from last quarter when only 4 of the sectors’ stocks finished the quarter in positive territory. MarTech stocks have suffered from a market resetting of revenue multiples which began when the Fed began raising rates. MarTech share price declines in the first, second and third quarters of 2022 were mostly driven by multiple compression as investors rotated out of high-flying tech sectors where companies had chased growth at all costs (at the expense of profitability). Only 7 of the MarTech companies in the Index posted positive EBITDA in the latest quarter.
2022 – A Year That Internet and Digital Media Investors Would Like to Forget
While there were signs of life in the fourth quarter of 2022 for the Internet and Digital Media sectors, 2022 was a year most investors in these sectors would like to forget. Every one of these sectors substantially underperformed the S&P 500 last year. The S&P 500 Index finished the year down 19% which was substantially better than Noble’s eSports and iGaming Index (-35%), Digital Media Index (-41%), MarTech Index (-52%), Social Media Index (-63%), and Ad Tech Index (-63%). Rather than focus on the stocks that significantly underperformed their respective Indices (and there are many), we would rather focus on the three stocks that finished 2022 up for the year.
Harte Hanks (HHS) – Shares of Harte Hanks increased by 53% in 2022, which continued its multi-year turnaround from a highly levered and unprofitable business (in 2019), to a double-digit EBITDA margin business with a debt-free balance sheet (in 2022).
Tencent (TME) – Shares of Tencent increased by 21% in 2022. Shares declined earlier in the year as China’s economy slowed as it maintained its Zero Covid-19 lockdown, but surged in the fourth quarter as it appeared that the company would enjoy an increase in demand as China begins easing Covid restrictions.
Perion Networks (PERI) – Perion shares increased by 5% in 2022 as Perion consistently beat expectations and raised its guidance throughout 2022. In the first week of 2023, the company once again pre-announced better than expected results for the fourth quarter, and shares are already up 18% since the start of the new year.
2022 M&A – A Tale of Two Halves
When we look back at last year from an M&A perspective, we can say that 2022 was another year of robust M&A activity. The total number of deals increased by just under 2%, as we tracked 667 deals in 2022 compared to 657 deals in 2021. Deal values were up a robust 71% in 2022 to $241 billion, up from $141 billion in 2021. The fact that deal value was so significantly higher happened despite the fact that there were far fewer deals where the transaction value was disclosed in 2022 compared to 2021. In 2022, there were 184 deals where the purchase price was disclosed, significantly lower than the 264 deals where the purchase price was disclosed in 2021.
2022 – A Year of Mega Deals
The biggest difference between 2022 and 2021 was two “mega” deals that were announced in 2022: Microsoft’s $69 billion announced acquisition of Activision Blizzard (which the Federal Trade Commission is seeking to block) and Elon Musk/Kingdom Holding’s $46 billion acquisition of Twitter. In fact, there were six transactions in 2022 that exceeded $10 billion in deal value, while there were only 2 such deals in 2021. Five of the 6 largest transactions of 2022 took place in the first half of the year. Half the largest M&A deals in 2022 were in the video or mobile gaming sector.
Only Adobe’s $19 billion announced acquisition of Figma took place in the second half of the year, which is not surprising given that the cost of financing M&A transactions using debt increased by approximately 300 basis points as the Fed continued to raise rates to fight inflation. Given the higher cost of financing deals, in 2023 we are not likely to see as many mega deals particularly at the relatively elevated EBITDA multiples shown above.
4Q 2022 M&A: A Chink in the Armor – M&A Activity and Deal Values Slide
Through the first three quarters of the year in 2022, we noted how well M&A had held up despite public equity market declines, Fed rate hikes, elevated inflation, contractionary monetary policy and geopolitical conflict. While the M&A market stayed resilient throughout most of 2022, it is clear that we began to see some “chinks in the armor” in 4Q 2022. We are not surprised by this relative weakness given the economic uncertainty and an inability to accurately forecast revenue and earnings trends for both acquirors and target companies alike.
Deal making in the fourth quarter of 2022 slowed both from a deal volume and deal value perspective. The total number of deals we tracked in the Internet and Digital Media space fell by 17% to 145 deals in 4Q 2022 compared to 174 deals in 4Q 2021. On a sequential basis, the total number of deals fell by 14% to 143 deals compared to 167 deals in 3Q 2022.
The biggest change was in deal value, where the total dollar value of deals fell by 70% to $9.1 billion in 4Q 2022 compared to $30.1 billion in 4Q 2021. On a sequential basis, deal value fell by 69% in 4Q 2022 from $29.1 billion in deal value in 3Q 2022.
The tale of two halves is best represented by the chart below.
From a deal volume perspective, the most active sectors we tracked were Digital Content (40 deals), Marketing Tech (36 deals), Agency & Analytics (32 deals) and Information Services (12 deals). From a deal value perspective, the Information Services sector had the largest dollar value of transactions ($3.3 billion), followed by eCommerce ($1.7 billion), Mar Tech ($1.2 billion), and Mobile ($1.2 billion).
During the fourth quarter there were a dozen announced deals in the video gaming sector, but the sector did not register as a top sector based on deal value. In fact, only 2 of the 12 deals that were announced included the purchase price: Churchill Down’s $250 million acquisition of horse racing game provider Exacta Systems and Playstudios’ $97 million acquisition of mobile game developer Branium Studios. The largest deals in the quarter by dollar value are shown below.
Digital Advertising
Digital Advertising Outlook for 2023
Last October eMarketer revised lower its 2023 U.S. digital advertising forecast by $5.5 billion, from $284.1 billion to $278.6 billion. While this sounds like a substantial drop, in percentage terms they lowered their 2023 forecast by only 2 percentage points, from 14% growth to 12% growth. Most of the global ad agencies expect digital to continue to grow by double digits driven by dollars migrating to such digital ad channels as retail media and connected TV. Both sectors continue to demonstrate impressive growth.
Retail Media – A retail media network is a retailer-owned advertising service that allows marketers to purchase advertising space across all digital assets owned by a retail business, using the retailer’s first-party data to connect with shoppers throughout their buying journey. eMarketer forecasts that retail media ad spending in the U.S. grew by 31% last year to $41 billion and will grow to $61 billion over the next two years, by which time it will equate to 20% of all digital advertising. The leaders in retail media are Amazon, Walmart and Instacart.
Through a retail media network, partners (advertisers) get direct access to a retailer’s customers. The benefit to the partners/advertisers is that they get access to first party data. Retailers own and store this data and allow advertisers to access them through their retail media programs. The first party data is valuable because it is collected at the point of sale allowing brands to get better insights into purchase behavior. Traditional retailers are beginning to follow suit. Traditional retailers with the largest digital audiences (per comScore) are Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, CVS, Walgreens, Costco and Kohls.
On January 10th, Microsoft announced that it intended to create the industry’s most complete omnichannel retail media technology stack supported by its Promote IQ platform, a company Microsoft acquired in 2019. We expect companies that serve the retail media sector from an Ad Tech or Mar Tech standpoint are poised to benefit from secular trends in this sector.
Connected TV (CTV) – Last July, Nielsen announced that for the first time U.S. streaming TV viewership was larger than cable TV viewing. In July 2022, eMarketer forecast that CTV advertising would reach $18.9 billion in 2022. However, in October 2022,
eMarketer raised its forecast for CTV advertising by $2.3 billion to $21.2 billion in 2022. In October, the forecaster also raised its 2023 CTV advertising forecast by $3 billion to $26.9 billion, up from $23.9 billion in the July 2022 forecast. The big increase is due primarily to Netflix and Disney+ announcing they were launching ad supported tiers to their streaming offerings.
The ability to target specific audiences and measure specific outcomes tied to the ads that viewers watched has made CTV a force to be reckoned with, particularly for those advertisers that are never quite sure which of their advertising mediums provide the highest returns. Historically, TV was a mass medium used by large brands that wanted massive reach. CTV has opened the door to a wider variety of advertisers that are looking to reach more targeted, even niche, audiences. According to MNTN, a connected TV performance marketing platform, many CTV advertisers are first-time TV advertisers. With new FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) channels coming online every month, there is no shortage of supply coming to market. This is just one reason why eMarketer predicts CTV advertising to grow by $10+ billion over the next two years and reach nearly $32 billion in advertising revenue in 2024. Ad Tech or Mar Tech companies that serve this market are also poised to benefit from secular viewing trends and the advertising dollars that are migrating to these platforms.
TRADITIONAL MEDIA COMMENTARY
The following is an excerpt from a recent note by Noble’s Media Equity Research Analyst Michael Kupinski
Overview – Will It Be A Happy New Year?
2022 was one of the worst for media stock performance in recent memory, with stocks across traditional and digital media sectors down over 40% or more. Media stocks underperformed the general market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, which was down a more moderate 19% on a comparable basis for the full year 2022. It is typical for media stocks to underperform in a late-stage economic cycle or in the midst of an economic downturn, but the significant stock declines are stunning. Macro-economic issues including inflation, rising interest rates, and the prospect of a looming economic downturn all contributed to the poor performance.
The question is “will 2023 be better?” We believe so. There has been recent signs of life. The S&P 500 increased by 7% during the fourth quarter of 2022, marking the first time the Index had increased since fourth quarter of 2021. Notably, the Noble Publishing Index outperformed the general market in the latest quarter. However, the full impact of the recent interest rate increase likely have not been reflected in the economy. Many media stocks seem to anticipate an economic downturn, but current fundamentals do not appear to be in a freefall and may be better than expected. If the economy further deteriorates from the recent or future rate hikes, it appears now that it may adversely affect the second half of 2023. Advertising pacings appear to be holding up well so far in the first half 2023. Notably, media stocks may begin to anticipate an improving economic outlook and overlook the weak fundamental environment in the second half.
Conventional thought anticipates that increasing concerns over an economic recession may prompt mortgage rates to trend lower in 2023. Furthermore, it is possible that the Fed may lower interest rates if inflation moderates, although the Fed is not currently anticipating rate decreases in 2023. Nonetheless, this paints a favorable picture for media stocks in 2023. Traditionally, the best time to buy media stocks is in the midst of an economic downturn. In addition, these consumer cyclical stocks tend to be among the first movers in an early-stage economic cycle and tend to perform well in a moderating interest rate environment. As mentioned earlier, the stocks may currently be oversold given the prospect that the current fundamental environment is better than anticipated.
What is the risk to this favorable outlook? We believe that the resurging Chinese economy may be disruptive. Within the last month, China’s economy has been reopened from Covid lockdowns, which may put pressure on global energy prices. Such a prospect may make the Fed’s fight on inflation more stubborn to combat, potentially throwing off our favorable outlook for moderating interest rates. Given the prospect that these stocks tend to outperform the market in an early-stage economic recovery, we believe it is time for investors to accumulate positions in the media sectors.
Traditional Media – Another Quarter of Moderating Stock Performance
Traditional media stocks underperformed the general market in 2022, with the Radio sector the hardest hit. The Noble Radio Index declined 64% versus 19% for the general market, as measured by the S&P 500, in a comparable time period. Television and Publishing stocks were down 23% and 25%, respectively, more in line with the general market returns. But there were notable company stock performance disparities within each sector, highlighted later in this report. Larger market capitalized companies performed better, which skewed the market cap weighted Indices.
Traditional media stocks seemed to have stabilized from the rapid declines in early 2022. The Publishing sector once again outperformed the general market in the quarter. Noble’s Television Index declined 3%, but this decline moderated from the 10% decline in the third quarter. The Radio industry still has not yet stabilized, with the Noble Radio Index down 15% in the latest quarter.
Broadcast Television
Will Netflix suck the air out of the room?
Netflix launched a new pricing plan on November 3rd which offers a basic tier with advertising at a low price point of $6.99. This compares with its previous tiers of $9.99 and $19.99 for advertising-free streaming. While reports indicate that the advertising platform is off to a slow start, we believe that the Netflix move could be disruptive to the broadcast television network business as its lower price basic service gains traction. It is likely that there will be some cannibalization from its higher pricing tier, but we believe that the move will broaden its subscriber base. While Netflix has not considered offering live sports on its streaming platform given the cost of sports rights, we believe that the potential success of its subscription/advertising tier may provide a platform to upend that decision. There is a strong tailwind for viewership trends on streaming platforms, which now exceed that of broadcast television viewing. A decision to enter sports will be a big deal and disruptive to network broadcasting.
Streaming viewership not only eclipsed television viewing in July 2022, but also that of cable viewing, 34.8% versus 34.4%. In addition, based on the latest Nielsen data from November 2022, streaming now accounts for 38.2% of total viewing with Broadcast at 25.7% and cable at 31.8%, as shown in the chart below. While TV viewership increased 7.8% in November, largely due to sports content, streaming usage year over year was up more than 41%.
Scripps Plans To Expand Sports
The declining cable subscriptions and cable viewership, especially on regional sports networks, led E.W. Scripps to launch a new Scripps Sports division. This division plans to seek broadcast rights from teams and leagues and bring that programming to broadcast television. The company plans to obtain rights either in local TV markets where it can partner with local teams or on a national basis, utilizing its distribution on its Ion Network. It is important to note that ION is unique from other networks. Ion’s distribution is nearly 100% of the US television market given that it has local licenses and local towers in every market, it is fully distributed on cable and satellite, and is offered over the air. As such, we believe that Scripps offers a unique proposition to sports teams interested in building its audiences.
Will ATSC 3.0 Stream The Tide?
Furthermore, the broadcast industry appears to be more aggressively ramping its own streaming capabilities with the rollout of its new broadcast standard, ATSC 3.0. ATSC 3.0 is built on the same Internet Protocol as other streaming platforms which enables broadcast programming and internet content to be accessible in the car, on mobile devices, and in the home. While there are many opportunities for the new standard, services and offerings are still being developed. ATSC 3.0 offers promising opportunities for broadcasters to compete with streaming services in the future. We expect that the industry will make more announcements about this promising technology at future events, including the upcoming NAB Show, April 16-19 in Las Vegas, NV.
Are We In A Recession?
In our view, the current fundamentals may be better than the stocks project. Advertising seems to be holding up, post political advertising. Most companies in the industry reported strong Q3 revenue growth, influenced by a large influx of political advertising. The largest broadcasters, particularly Nexstar, have the largest EBITDA margins. The two stocks with the highest revenue growth in the quarter, Entravision and E.W. Scripps, saw their shares perform the best in the fourth quarter.
Notably, local advertising appears to be fairing better than national advertising. Based on our estimates, core local advertising is expected to be down in the range of 5% to 8%, with core national down as much as double digits. We believe that some large advertising categories like auto, retail and home improvement will show improving trends. The first quarter 2023 appears to be consistent with the fourth quarter. Broadcast network TV is another story, which we believe is weak. Network has potential heightened competition from streamers such as Netflix and Disney+ which have just launched ad-supported streaming tiers.
Is There Room For Upside?
Most TV stocks are trading in a tight range of each other. The biggest variance in stock valuations is Entravision, which is trading at 5.9x EV to our 2023 EBITDA estimate, well below that of its industry peers which trade on average at 7.7x. One might argue that Entravision, which has migrated to become a leading Digital Media company which contributes roughly 80% of its total company revenues, ought to trade at a premium to its broadcast peers, rather than at a discount. Investors appear to be somewhat confused by the company’s relatively low EBITDA margins, which is a function of how revenues are accounted for in its digital media division. We would also note that its capital structure is among the best in the industry, with a large cash position and modest net debt position.
As mentioned earlier, the Noble Broadcast TV Index declined 3% in the latest quarter, underperforming the general market’s 7% advance. E.W. Scripps, which increased 6% and Entravision, which increased 5% were among the strongest revenue performers in the third quarter. Among the poor performers were shares of Gray Television, down a significant 34% and Sinclair Broadcasting, which was down 24%. With the TV stocks down a significant 23% for the year, have the stocks already assumed that the industry is in an economic downturn? We believe that the stocks may be oversold based on the prospect that advertising is currently holding up in the first quarter.
Broadcast Radio
Digital Is Bolstering Performance
The radio industry index was the worst performing index in the traditional media segment, declining 15% in 4Q22 and 64% for the year. The radio industry is feeling the pressure that recessionary concerns place on the demand for advertising. In addition to increased competition for audiences from digital music providers and shifting advertising dollars from radio to a more targeted advertising medium, digital media.
For the third quarter Urban One and Townsquare Media top its peers with revenue growth of 9% and 8%, respectively. A common theme with companies that grew fastest was diversified revenue streams. Salem Media and Beasley Broadcast Group grew less quickly but are taking steps to further diversify revenue. Salem has diversified into content creation and digital media and Beasley is continuing to pursue a digital agency model. The median Q3 revenue growth rate was 1.5%, and the average revenue growth was -1%. The average growth rate of -1% is skewed due to the poor performance of Medico Holdings (MDIA). In previous quarters Medico benefited from Covid-19 vaccine advertising campaigns and ticket sales for an annual outdoor live event that took place in Q3 of 2021. Without Covid vaccine advertising and Medico’s concert being held in Q2 2022 instead of Q3 resulted in revenue declining 34% on a year over year basis.
After the 2022 calendar year ended, Moody’s downgraded Cumulus Media’s Corporate Family Rating to B3 from B2. Moody’s believes Cumulus Media will face a further decline in advertising demand as the economy weakens. Moody’s could upgrade its rating if leverage decreases to 5x as a result of positive performance and could downgrade its rating if leverage ratio increases to 7x as a result of poor performance. It should be noted that Cumulus has a large cash position of $118 million and could access an additional $100 million through an asset backed loan.
However, there are several companies in the radio industry with improving leverage profiles. We believe that radio companies are diversifying traditional revenue streams with digital revenue. In our view, companies that achieved a greater degree of digital transformation and are better shielded from macroeconomic headwinds. Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media, and Salem Media are among the cheapest in the group. For those companies with substantial digital media businesses that are growing rapidly, like Townsquare Media and Beasley, we believe that advertising pacings in the first quarter are likely to be positive. On the low end pacings are expected to be flat to plus 3% and may even be stronger, up 8% or more in the second quarter (although this is too early to bank). In our view, advertising for these companies do not appear to be falling off of a cliff as the stocks seem to project. Therefore, we believe that the Radio sector appears to be in an oversold position and should have some upside prospects in 2023.
Publishing
Publishing stocks had a pretty good quarter, up 18% as measured by the Noble Publishing Index versus the general market as measured by the S&P 500 Index up 7%. But the largest stocks in the index, New York Times and News Corp, were the only stocks that were up in the sector. Given that the Noble Publishing Index is market cap weighted, it was the reason that the Index was up in the quarter. Lee Enterprises was down a very modest 2% in the quarter. The relatively favorable performance of the index was primarily due to its largest constituents, News Corp. and The New York Times, which rebounded from -30% and -39%, respectively in Q2 2022, to -3% and +3%, respectively, in Q3 2022 and then up 17% and 16%, respectively, in Q4 2022.
We believe that Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper company, continues to create a pall over the publishing group as it continues to struggle to manage cash flows with its heavy debt burden. In August, the company announced a round of layoffs of 400 employees and then announced another 200 in December. We believe that the company is trying to shore up its cash flow amidst a weak fundamental environment. Not surprisingly, GCI shares (-30%) were among the worst performers in the sector in the fourth quarter. To a large extent, the stock performance in the latest quarter reflected the various company results in Q3.
Q3 publishing revenue declined on average 1%, which excludes the strong revenue growth of the Daily Journal. The company benefited from its Journal Technologies consulting fees which bolstered revenues in its fiscal Q4 results. In addition, during the year, the company sold marketable securities for roughly $80.6 million, realizing net gains of $14.2 million. We have backed out the extraordinary results of the Daily Journal from our industry averages. Notably, Gannett had the weakest revenue performance in the fourth quarter, down 10%.
Notable exceptions to the overall weak industry revenue performance was The New York Times, up 7.5% in Q3 revenues, which reflected a moderation in revenue growth from the prior quarter of an increase of 12%. News Corp, declined 1%, which was well below the 7% gain in the prior quarter. Importantly, Lee Enterprises’ fiscal quarter revenue was down a modest 0.2%, a sequential improvement from the modest 0.7% decrease in the prior fiscal quarter. We believe that Lee’s digital strategy continues to gain traction and that the company is very close to an inflection point toward revenue growth. We continue to note that Lee’s digital subscriptions currently lead the industry. The company has exceeded all of its peers in terms of digital subscription growth in the past 11 consecutive quarters. Furthermore, over 50% of its advertising is derived from digital. Currently, roughly 30% of the company’s total revenues are derived from digital, still short of the 55% at The New York Times, but closing the gap.
Not only is Lee performing well on the digital revenue front, but the company has industry leading margins. Lee’s Q3 EBITDA margins were industry leading at 16.7%. We believe that Lee’s margins are notable given that it demonstrates that the company is managing its margins in spite of the investments in its digital media businesses. Its margins place it on par with its digital media focused peers, such as the New York Times.
LEE’s shares trade at an average industry multiple of 5.7x Enterprise Value to our 2023 adj. EBITDA estimate. Notably, the company is closing the gap with its digital media revenue contribution to that of New York Times. The New York Times carries a significantly higher stock valuation, currently trading at an estimated 15.8x EV to 2023 adj. EBITDA. We believe that the valuation gap with the New York Times should close.
This newsletter was prepared and provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc. For any questions and/or requests regarding this news letter, please contact Chris Ensley
DISCLAIMER
All statements or opinions contained herein that include the words “ we”,“ or “ are solely the responsibility of NOBLE Capital Markets, Inc and do not necessarily reflect statements or opinions expressed by any person or party affiliated with companies mentioned in this report Any opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice All information provided herein is based on public and non public information believed to be accurate and reliable, but is not necessarily complete and cannot be guaranteed No judgment is hereby expressed or should be implied as to the suitability of any security described herein for any specific investor or any specific investment portfolio The decision to undertake any investment regarding the security mentioned herein should be made by each reader of this publication based on their own appraisal of the implications and risks of such decision This publication is intended for information purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to buy/ sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy/sell any security mentioned in this report, nor shall there be any sale of the security herein in any state or domicile in which said offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or domicile This publication and all information, comments, statements or opinions contained or expressed herein are applicable only as of the date of this publication and subject to change without prior notice Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Jacob Mutchler, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Refer to the bottom of the report for important disclosures
Overview:Will It Be A Happy New Year? The full impact of the recent increase in interest rates likely have not been fully reflected in the economy. But, many media stocks seem to anticipate that the industry is in a downturn now. Notably, some stocks have recently performed better and the current fundamentals are not falling off of a cliff.
Digital Media: Coming Off Of Its Sugar High?While Google now plans to phase out cookies in the second half of 2024, it is likely that the plan will affect 2023 as marketers and publishers prepare for the deprecation of cookies.
Television Broadcasting: A Watershed Year For Streaming. Streaming has now eclipsed both broadcast TV and cable TV in terms of viewing based on Nielsen data. Recently, Netflix launched a new pricing plan on November 3 which offers a basic tier, with advertising, at a low price point of $6.99. What does this mean for the TV industry?
Radio Broadcasting:Digital Is Bolstering Performance. It has been a bloodbath for Radio stocks, but the fundamentals appear better than the stock performance might suggest. Radio broadcasters with significant digital businesses are anticipated to report favorable pacings in Q1.
Publishing: You Are Golden If You Have Digital. The trouble with the largest newspaper company, Gannett, has created a pall over the group as it struggles to cut expenses. But, companies with substantial digital operations have performed well. We highlight one of our current favorites Lee Enterprises (LEE).
Overview
Will It Be A Happy New Year?
2022 was one of the worse for media stock performance in recent memory, with stocks across traditional and digital media sectors down over 40% or more. Media stocks underperformed the general market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, which was down a more moderate 19.4% on a comparable basis for the full year 2022. It is typical for media stocks to underperform in a late-stage economic cycle or in the midst of an economic downturn. But, the significant stock declines are stunning. Macro-economic issues including inflation, rising interest rates, and the prospect of a looming economic downturn, all contributed to the poor performance.
The question is “will 2023 be better?” We believe so. There has been recent signs of life. The S&P 500 increased by 7% during the fourth quarter of 2022, marking the first time the Index had increased since fourth quarter of 2021. Notably, the Noble Publishing and Noble MarTech Indices outperformed the general market in the latest quarter. But, the full impact of the recent interest rate increase likely have not been reflected in the economy. Many media stocks seem to anticipate an economic downturn, but current fundamentals do not appear to be in a freefall and may be better than expected. If the economy further deteriorates from the recent or future rate hikes, it appears now that it may adversely affect the second half of 2023. Advertising pacings appear to be holding up well so far in the first half 2023. Notably, media stocks may begin to anticipate an improving economic outlook and overlook the weak fundamental environment in the second half.
Conventional thought anticipates that increasing concerns over an economic recession may prompt mortgage rates to trend lower in 2023. Furthermore, it is possible that the Fed may lower interest rates if inflation moderates, although the Fed is not currently anticipating rate decreases in 2023. Nonetheless, this paints a favorable picture for media stocks in 2023. Traditionally, the best time to buy media stocks is in the midst of an economic downturn. In addition, these consumer cyclical stocks tend to be among the first movers in an early-stage economic cycle and tend to perform well in a moderating interest rate environment. As mentioned earlier, the stocks may currently be oversold given the prospect that the current fundamental
environment is better anticipated.
What is the risk to this favorable outlook? We believe that the resurging Chinese economy may be disruptive. Within the last month, the China’s economy has been reopened from Covid lockdowns, which may put pressure on global energy prices. Such a prospect may make our fight on inflation more stubborn to combat, potentially throwing off our favorable outlook for moderating interest rates. In our view, we are closer to the light at the end of the tunnel than we were last year. Given the prospect that these stocks tend to outperform the market in an early stage economic recovery, we believe it is time for investors to accumulate positions in the media sectors. In this quarterly, we highlight some of our favorite plays in the Digital, Media & Technology space.
Digital Media & Technology
A Year To Forget
While there were signs of life in the fourth quarter of 2022 for the Internet and Digital Media sectors, 2022 was a year most investors in these sectors would like to forget. As Figure #1 LTM Internet & Digital Technology Performance illustrates, every one of these sectors substantially underperformed the S&P 500 last year. The S&P 500 Index finished the year down 19% which was substantially better than Noble’s Digital Media Index (-41%), MarTech Index (-52%), Social Media Index (-63%), and Ad Tech Index (-63%). Rather than focus on the stocks that significantly underperformed their respective Indices (and there are many), we would rather focus on the three stocks that finished 2022 up for the year.
The shares of one of our favorites, Harte Hanks (HHS)increased by 53% in 2022. The company continued its multi-year turnaround from a highly levered and unprofitable business (in 2019), to a double digit EBITDA margin business with a debt-free balance sheet. Furthermore, we believe that many of the company’s business lines have recession resilient qualities. The other stocks that performed well are Tencent (TME), whichincreased by 21%in 2022. Shares declined earlier in the year as China’s economy slowed as it maintained its Zero Covid-19 lockdowns, but surged in the fourth quarter as it appeared that the company would enjoy an increase in demand as China begins easing Covid restrictions. Finally, the shares of Perion Networks (PERI) increased by 5% in 2022 as Perion consistently beat expectation and raised its guidance throughout 2022. In the first week of 2023, the company once again pre-announced better than expected results for the fourth quarter, and shares are already up 14% since the start of the new year.
As Figure #2 Q4 Internet & Digital Technology Performancehighlights, there has been signs of life in Noble’s MarTech Index which increased 6%, roughly in-line with the market. In Noble’s MarTech Index, 11 of the 22 stocks in the index posted gains, led by Yext (YEXT; +46%), Shopify (SHOP; +29%), LiveRamp (RAMP; +29%) and Adobe (ADBE; +22%). This marks significant improvement from last quarter when only 4 of the sectors’ stocks finished the quarter in positive territory. MarTech stocks have suffered from a market reset to revenue multiples that began when the Fed began raising rates. MarTech share price declines in the first, second and third quarters of 2022 were mostly driven by multiple compression as investors rotated out of high-flying tech sectors where companies had chased growth at all costs (at the expense of profitability). Only 7 of the MarTech companies in the Index posted positive EBITDA in the latest quarter. Laggards during the fourth quarter were Noble’s Digital Media Index (-5%), Social Media Index (-7%) and Ad Tech Index (-20%).
Coming Off Of A Sugar High?
One of the largest issues affecting the Digital Media industry in 2023 will be the phase out of the use of third-party cookies. Cookies were used to track a user visits on internet sites and that data was used to model behavior. The industry has moved away from the use of cookies as governments and consumers have raised concerns over privacy issues and as consumers wanted more control over how their data is used. Governments have taken a more active role in protecting consumer privacy. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia have passed privacy laws. It is likely that there will be a federal privacy law at some point.
How will this affect the industry? We believe that there has been plenty of time to “work around” this issue. The implementation of the phase out of cookies has been delayed several times, originally announced by Google in 2020. Google now plans to phased out cookies in the second half of 2024, if it is not delayed again. As marketers and publishers prepare for the deprecation of cookies, digital advertising likely will be begin to affect 2023.
Digital Advertising Outlook for 2023
Last October eMarketer revised lower its 2023 U.S. digital advertising forecast by $5.5 billion, from $284.1 billion to $278.6 billion. While this sounds like a substantial drop in percentage terms, the 2023 guidance was lowered from 14% growth to 12% growth. Most of the global ad agencies expect digital to continue to grow by double digits driven with dollars migrating to such digital ad channels as retail media and connected TV. Both sectors continue to demonstrate impressive growth.
Retail Media – A retail media network is a retailer-owned advertising service that allows marketers to purchase advertising space across all digital assets owned by a retail business, using the retailer’s first-party data to connect with shoppers throughout the buying journey. eMarketer forecasts that retail media ad spending grew by 31% last year to $41 billion and will grow to $61 billion over the next two years, by which time it will equate to 20% of digital advertising. The leaders in retail media are Amazon, Walmart and Instacart.
Through a retail media network, partners (advertisers) get direct access to a retailer’s customers. The benefit to the partners/advertisers is that they get access to first party data. Retailers own and store this data and allow advertisers to access them through their retail media programs. The first party data is valuable because it is collected at the point of sale allowing brands to get better insights into purchase behavior. Traditional retailers are beginning to follow suit. Traditional retailers with the largest digital audiences (per comScore) are Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, CVS, Walgreens, Costco and Kohls.
On January 10th, Microsoft announced that it intended to create the industry’s most complete omnichannel retail media technology stack supported by its Promote IQ platform, a company Microsoft acquired in 2019. We expect companies that serve the retail media sector from an Ad Tech or Mar Tech standpoint are poised to benefit from secular trends in this sector.
Connected TV (CTV) – Last July, Nielsen announced that for the first time U.S. streaming TV viewership was larger than cable TV viewing. In July 2022, eMarketer forecast that CTV advertising would reach $18.9 billion in 2022. However, in October 2022, eMarketer raised its forecast for CTV advertising by $2.3 billion to $21.2 billion in 2022. In October, the forecaster also raised its 2023 CTV advertising forecast by $3 billion to $26.9 billion, up from $23.9 billion in the July 2022 forecast. The big increase is due primarily to Netflix and Disney+ announcing they were launching ad supported tiers to their streaming offerings. Ad Tech or Mar Tech companies that serve this market are also poised to benefit from secular viewing trends and the advertising dollars that are migrating to these platforms, discussed later in this report.
The ability to target specific audiences and measure specific outcomes tied to the ads that viewers watched, has made CTV a force to be reckoned with, particularly for those advertisers that are never quite sure which advertising mediums provide the highest returns. Historically, TV was a mass medium used by large brands that wanted massive reach. CTV has opened the door to a wider variety of advertisers that are looking to reach more targeted, even niche, audiences. According to MNTN, a connected TV performance marketing platform, many CTV advertisers are first-time TV advertisers. With new FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) channels coming online every month, there is no shortage of supply coming to market. This is just one reason why eMarketer predicts CTV advertising to grow by $10+ billion over the next two years and reach nearly $32 billion in advertising revenue in 2024.
As we look toward 2023, our current favorites include Harte Hanks (HHS) and Direct Digital (DRCT). In terms of Harte Hanks, we believe that the company has recession resilient qualities and that the company’s balance sheet is in a sound position. Furthermore, given the recent rising interest rate environment, the company’s unfunded pension liabilities have dramatically improved. The company may have the opportunity to further mitigate its pension liabilities in 2023. Figure #3 Marketing Tech Comparables highlights, the shares of HHS are trading well below its peers. We believe that there is meaningful upside potential in the shares as it closes the valuation gap with its peers.
While the deprecation of cookies has created a pall over the sector, we believe that Direct Digital has worked with its Publishers to mitigate this issue. In addition, the company is a relatively small player in a very large marketplace. As such, we believe that the company has the ability to attractively grow in 2023. In our view, the shares appear to be oversold given the continuation of favorable advertising trends. Figure #4 Advertising Tech Comparables illustrates that the DRCT shares trade below the average valuation in its Advertising Marketing peer set. In our view, the valuation should be higher than the averages given that the company has leading industry revenue growth. Closing this valuation gap offers compelling stock appreciation potential.
Figure #1 LTM Internet & Digital Technology Performance
Source: Capital IQ
Figure #2 Q4 Internet & Digital Technology Performance
Source: Capital IQ
Marketing Technology
Figure #3 Marketing Tech Comparables
Source: Eikon, Company filings and Noble estimates
Figure #4 Advertising Tech Comparables
Source: Eikon, Company filings and Noble estimates
Traditional Media
Another Quarter Of Moderating Stock Performance
Traditional media stocks underperformed the general market in 2022, with the Radio sector the hardest hit. As Figure #5 LTM Traditional Media Performance Chart illustrates, the Noble Radio Index declined 63.8% versus 19.4% for the general market, as measured by the S&P 500, in a comparable time period. Television and Publishing stocks were down 23.2% and 25.4%, respectively, more in line with the general market returns. But, there were notable company stock performance disparities within each sector, highlighted later in this report. Larger market capitalized companies performed better, which skewed the market cap weighted Indices.
The traditional media stocks seemed to have stabilized from the rapid declines earlier in the year. Possible signs of life in the traditional media sector as well? As Figure #6 Q4 Traditional Media Performance highlights, the Publishing sector once again outperformed the general market in the quarter. The Noble Television Index declined 3.2%, but this decline moderated from the 10.1% decline in the third quarter. The Radio industry still has not yet stabilized, with the Noble Radio Index down 15.4% in the latest quarter.
Figure #5 LTM Traditional Media Performance
Source: Capital IQ
Figure #6 Q4 Traditional Media Performance
Source: Capital IQ
Television Broadcast
Will Netflix suck the air out of the room?
Netflix launched a new pricing plan on November 3 which offers a basic tier, with advertising, at a low price point of $6.99. This compares with its previous tiers of $9.99 and $19.99 for advertising free streaming. While reports indicate that the advertising platform is off to a slow start, we believe that the Netflix move could be disruptive to the Broadcast Television Network business as its lower price basic service gains traction. It is likely that there will be some cannibalization from its higher pricing tier, but we believe that the move will broaden its subscriber base. While Netflix has not considered offering live sports on its streaming platform given the cost of sports rights, we believe that the potential success of its subscription/advertising tier may provide a platform to upend that decision. There is a strong tailwind for viewership trends on streaming platforms, which now exceed that of broadcast television viewing. A decision to enter sports will be a big deal and disruptive to Network broadcasting.
Streaming viewership not only eclipsed television viewing in July 2022, but also that of cable viewing, 34.8% versus 34.4%. In addition, based on the latest Nielsen data from November 2022, streaming now accounts for 38.2% of total viewing with Broadcast at 25.7% and cable at 31.8%. Figure #7 Viewership illustrates the November viewership data. While TV viewership increased 7.8% in November, largely due to sports content, streaming usage year over year was up more than 41%.
Figure #7 Viewership
Source: Nielsen Media Insights
Scripps Plans To Expand Sports
The declining cable subscriptions and cable viewership, especially on regional sports networks, led E.W. Scripps to launch a new Scripps Sports division. This division plans to seek broadcast rights from teams and leagues and bring that programming to broadcast television. The company plans to obtain rights either in local TV markets where it can partner with the the teams or on a national basis, utilizing its distribution on its Ion Network. It is important to note that ION is unique from other networks. Ion’s distribution is nearly 100% of the US television market given that it has local licenses and local towers in every market, it is fully distributed on cable and satellite, and is offered over the air. As such, we believe that Scripps offers a unique proposition to sports teams interested in building its audiences.
Will ATSC 3.0 Stream The Tide?
Furthermore, the broadcast industry appears to be more aggressively ramping its own streaming capabilities with the rollout of its new broadcast standard, ATSC 3.0. ATSC 3.0 is built on the same Internet Protocol as other streaming platforms, and, as such, broadcast programming and internet content can be accessible in the car, on mobile devices, as well as in the home. Importantly, the new standard can handle signal shifting, like if you were moving in a car, and the signal is more robust so you may be able to pick up more stations in a local market. While there are many opportunities for the new standard, services and offerings are still being developed. But, it offers promising opportunities for broadcasters to compete with streaming services in the future. We expect that the industry will make more announcements about this promising technology at future events, including the upcoming NAB Show, April 16-19 in Las Vegas, NV.
Are We In A Recession?
In our view, the current fundamentals may be better than the stocks project. Advertising seems to be holding up, post political advertising. As Figure #8 TV Q3 YoY Revenue Growth highlights, most companies in the industry reported strong Q3 revenue growth, influenced by a large influx of Political advertising. Figure #9 TV Q3 EBITDA Margins illustrates that the largest broadcasters, particularly Nexstar, has the largest EBITDA margins. Notably, the two stocks with the highest revenue growth in the quarter, Entravision and E.W. Scripps, performed the best in the fourth quarter, discussed later.
Notably, Local advertising appears to be fairing better than National advertising. Based on our estimates, core local advertising is expected to be down in the range of 5% to 8%, with core National down as much as the double digits. We believe that some large advertising categories like Auto, Retail and Home Improvement will show improving trends. The first quarter 2023 appears to be consistent with the fourth quarter. Smaller market TV likely will perform at the lower end of the range, while larger market TV will be at the higher end (greater core revenue decline). Broadcast Network is another story, which we believe is weak. Network has potential heightened competition. Figure #8 TV Q3 YoY Revenue Growth
Source: Eikon and Company filings
Figure #9 TV Q3 EBITDA Margins
Source: Eikon and Company filings
As mentioned earlier, the Noble Television Broadcast Index declined 3.2% in the latest quarter, underperforming the general market’s 7.2% advance. Importantly, the 3.2% decline in valuations was a moderation from the 10.1% decline in the third quarter. There were variances in the performance and some notable performers including two of our favorites: E.W. Scripps, which increased 5.8% and Entravision, which increase 5.3%. Both of these companies were among the strongest revenue performers in the third quarter. Among the poor performers was Gray Television, down a significant 33.7% and Sinclair Broadcasting, down 24.0%. With the TV stocks down a significant 23.2% for the year, have the stocks already assumed that the industry is in an economic downturn? We believe that the stock may be oversold based on the prospect that advertising is currently holding up in the first quarter.
Is There Room For Upside?
As Figure # 10 TV Industry Comparables highlight, most TV stocks are trading in a tight range of each other. The biggest variance in stock valuations is our current favorite Entravision, trading at 5.9 times EV to our 2023 EBITDA estimate, well below that of its industry peers which trade on average at 7.7 times. We believe that Entravision, which has migrated to become a leading Digital Media company which contributes roughly 80% of its total company revenues, should trade at a premium to its broadcast peers, rather than at a discount. Investors appear to be somewhat confused by the company’s relatively low EBITDA margins, which is a function of how revenues are accounted for in its Digital Media Division. We would also note that its financial profile is among the best in the industry, with a large cash position and modest net debt position of $86 million. As such, EVC leads our favorites in this sector.
Figure #10 TV Industry Comparables
Source: Eikon, Company filings and Nobles estimates
Radio Broadcast
Digital Is Bolstering Performance
The radio industry index was the worst performing index in the traditional media segment, declining 15.4% in the quarter and 63.8% for the year. The radio industry is feeling the pressure that recessionary concerns place on the demand for advertising. In addition to increased competition for audiences from digital music providers and shifting advertising dollars from radio to a more targeted advertising medium, digital media.
Figure #11 Radio Industry Q3 YoY Revenue Growth chart illustrates the year over year change in revenue for the third quarter. Urban One and Townsquare Media top their peers with revenue growth of 8.9% and 8.4%, respectively. A common theme with companies at the top of the list are diversified revenue streams. Salem Media and Beasley Broadcast Group are in the middle of the pack and are both taking steps to further diversify revenue. Salem has diversified into content creation and digital media and Beasley is continuing to pursue digital agency model. The median Q3 revenue growth rate was 1.5%, and the average revenue growth was -1%. The Average growth rate of -1% is skewed due to the poor performance of Medico holdings. In previous quarters Medico benefited from Covid-19 vaccine advertising campaigns and ticket sales for an annual outdoor live event that took place in Q3 of 2021. Without Covid vaccine advertising and Medico’s concert being held in Q2 2022 instead of Q3 resulted in revenue declining 33.6% on a year over year basis.
Industry adj. EBITDA margins were healthy, as Figure #12 Radio Industry Q3 EBITDA margins illustrates, Urban one, Townsquare Media and Iheart Media top the list with adj. EBITDA margins of 30.6%, 25.6% and 25.5%, respectively.
After the 2022 calendar year ended, Moody’s downgraded Cumulus Media’s Corporate Family Rating to B3 from B2. Moody’s believes Cumulus Media will face a further decline in advertising demand as the economy weakens. Moody’s could upgrade its rating if leverage decreases to 5x as a result of positive performance and could downgrade its rating if leverage ratio increases to 7x as a result of poor performance. It should be noted that Cumulus has a large cash position of $118 million and could access an additional $100 million through an asset backed loan.
However, there are several companies in the Radio industry with improving leverage profiles. Moreover, we believe that radio companies are diversifying traditional revenue streams with digital revenue. In our view, companies that achieved a greater degree of digital transformation and are better shielded from macroeconomic headwinds. Figure #13 Radio Industry Comparables highlights, Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media, and Salem Media are among the cheapest in the group. For those companies with substantial digital media businesses that are growing rapidly, like Townsquare Media and Beasley, we believe that advertising pacings in the first quarter are likely to be positive. On the low end pacings are expected to be flat to plus 3% and may even be stronger, up 8% or more in the second quarter (although this is too early to bank). In our view, advertising for these companies do not appear to be falling off of a cliff as the stocks seem to project. As such, we believe that the Radio sector appears to be in an oversold position and should have some upside prospects in 2023. Our favorites include TSQ, SALM, BBGI, and CMLS.
Figure #11 Radio Industry Q3 YoY Revenue Growth
Source: Eikon and Company filings
Figure #12 Radio Industry Q3 EBITDA Margins
Source: Eikon and Company filings
Figure #13 Radio Industry Comparables
Source: Eikon, Company filings and Nobles estimates
Publishing
Illustrated above in Figure #6 Q4 Traditional Media Performance, the Publishing stocks had a pretty good quarter, up 17.9% as measured by the Noble Publishing Index versus the general market as measured by the S&P 500 Index up 7.1%. But the largest stocks in the index, New York Times and News Corp, were the only stocks that were up in the sector. Given that the Noble Publishing Index is market cap weighted, it was the reason that the Index was up in the quarter. Importantly, one of our favorites, Lee Enterprises was down a very modest 2.3% in the quarter. Again, the relatively favorable performance of the index was primarily due to its largest constituents, News Corp. and The New York Times, which rebounded from -29.7% and -39.1%, respectively in Q2, to -3% and +3%, respectively, in Q3 and then up 16.8% and 16.3%, respectively, in Q4.
We believe that Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper company, continues to create a pall over the publishing group as it continues to struggle to manage cash flows with its heavy debt burden. In August, the company announced a round of lay offs of 400 employees and then announced another 200 in December. We believe that the company is trying to shore up its cash flow amidst a weak fundamental environment. Not surprisingly, the GCI shares were among the worse performers in the sector in the latest quarter, down 30%. To a large extent, the stock performance in the latest quarter reflected the various company results in Q3.
As Figure #14 Publishing Industry Q3 YoY Revenue Performance chart illustrates, Q3 publishing revenue declined on average 1.1%, which excludes the strong revenue growth of the Daily Journal. The company benefited from its Journal Technologies consulting fees which bolstered revenues in its fiscal Q4 results. In addition, during the year, the company sold marketable securities for roughly $80.6 million, realizing net gains of $14.2 million. As such, we have backed out the extraordinary results of the Daily Journal from our industry averages. Notably, Gannett had the weakest revenue performance in the latest quarter, down 10%.
The notable exceptions to the overall weak industry revenue performance was The New York Times, up 7.5% in Q3 revenues, which reflected a moderation in revenue growth from the prior quarter of an increase of 11.5%. News Corp, declined 1%, which was well below the 7.3% gain in the prior quarter. Importantly, Lee Enterprises fiscal quarter revenue was down a modest 0.2%, a sequential improvement from the modest 0.7% decrease in the prior fiscal quarter. We believe that Lee’s digital strategy continues to gain traction and that the company is very close to an inflection point toward revenue growth. We continue to note that Lee’s digital subscriptions currently lead the industry. The company has exceeded all of its peers in terms of digital subscription growth in the past 11 consecutive quarters. Furthermore, over 50% of its advertising is derived from digital. Currently, roughly 30% of the company total revenues are derived from Digital, still short of the 55% at The New York Times, but closing the gap.
Not only is Lee performing well on the Digital revenue front, it has industry leading margins. As Figure #15 Publishing Industry Q3 EBITDA Margins illustrates, Lee’s Q3 EBITDA margins were industry leading at 16.7%, again, excluding the extraordinary results at the Daily Journal which benefited from marketable securities trading. We believe that Lee’s margins are notable given that it demonstrates that the company is managing its margins in spite of the investments in its Digital Media businesses. Its margins place it on pare with its Digital Media focused peers, such as the New York Times.
As Figure #16 Publishing Industry Comparables chart illustrates, the LEE shares trade at an average industry multiple of 5.7 times Enterprise Value to our 2023 adj. EBITDA estimate. Notably, the company is closing the gap with its Digital Media revenue contribution to that of New York Times. The New York Times carries a significantly higher stock valuation, currently trading at an estimated 15.8 times EV to 2023 adj. EBITDA. We believe that the valuation gap with the New York Times should close. As such, we view the LEE shares as among our favorites in the industry.
Figure #14 Publishing Industry Q3 YoY Revenue Growth
Source: Eikon and Company filings
Figure #15 Publishing Industry Q3 EBITDA Margins
Source: Eikon and Company filings
Figure #16 Publishing Industry Comparables
Source: Eikon, Company filings and Nobles estimates.
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 13, 2023 / Engine Gaming and Media, Inc. (“Engine” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:GAME) (TSXV:GAME),a data-driven, gaming, media and influencer marketing platform company, today announced the company will now be releasing results before market open on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 and will hold a conference call at 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time the same day.
Please dial in at least 10 minutes before the start of the call to ensure timely participation.
A playback of the call will be available through January 24, 2023, on Engine Gaming and Media, Inc.’s Investor Relations website at ir.enginemediainc.comor via telephone replay by dialing 1-844-512-2921 or 1-412-317-6671. The Access Code is 13735206.
About Engine Gaming and Media, Inc.
Engine Gaming and Media, Inc. (NASDAQ:GAME) (TSXV:GAME) provides unparalleled live streaming data and social analytics, influencer relationship management and monetization, and programmatic advertising to support the world’s largest video gaming companies, brand marketers, ecommerce companies, media publishers and agencies to drive new streams of revenue. The company’s subsidiaries include Stream Hatchet, the global leader in gaming video distribution analytics; Sideqik, a social influencer marketing discovery, analytics, and activation platform; and Frankly Media, a digital publishing platform used to create, distribute, and monetize content across all digital channels. Engine Gaming generates revenue through a combination of software-as-a-service subscription fees, managed services, and programmatic advertising. For more information, please visit www.enginegaming.com.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Engine to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. In respect of the forward-looking information contained herein, Engine has provided such statements and information in reliance on certain assumptions that management believed to be reasonable at the time. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements stated herein to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information contained in this news release.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Engine does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf, except as required by applicable law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Company Contact: Lou Schwartz 647-725-7765
Investor Relations Contact: Shannon Devine MZ North America Main: 203-741-8811 GAME@mzgroup.us
IRVING, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Salem Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALM) announced today the promotion of Andy Massingill to the position of Senior Director of Digital Sales. Jon Latzer, Vice President/General Manager of Salem Surround said, “Over the past three years, Andy has led his team to unprecedented revenue heights. His leadership across the Western Region played a significant factor in Salem’s overall revenue growth. In addition to Andy’s leadership for the Western Region, Andy will work closely with Chris Gould, Senior Vice President National Programming and Ministry Relations and all our National Ministry partners to better leverage our digital assets, generating more time with our quality audience while delivering outstanding results,” Latzer said.
“The last three years have been an incredible journey with Salem and the Western Region. I’m proud of our work, the work we will continue to do, and the relationships established across the board. I am very excited to work with Chris and our National Ministry partners who are at the core fabric of what Salem stands for,” said Massingill.
ABOUT SALEM MEDIA GROUP:
Salem Media Group is America’s leading multimedia company specializing in Christian and conservative content, with media properties comprising radio, digital media and book and newsletter publishing. Each day Salem serves a loyal and dedicated audience of listeners and readers numbering in the millions nationally. With its unique programming focus, Salem provides compelling content, fresh commentary and relevant information from some of the most respected figures across the Christian and conservative media landscape. Learn more about Salem Media Group, Inc. at www.salemmedia.com, Facebook and Twitter.
CHELMSFORD, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 9, 2023 / Harte Hanks, Inc. (Nasdaq:HHS), a leading global customer experience company, today announced that management will present at the Sidoti & Company Virtual Micro-Cap Conference on January 18, 2023 at 10:45 a.m. ET. In addition, management will virtually host one-on-one meetings with participating investors on Wednesday, January 18 and Thursday, January 19, 2023.
A webcast of the company’s conference presentation will be available on the Harte Hanks investor relations website at https://investors.hartehanks.com.
Investors interested in a meeting with Harte Hanks management can contact their Sidoti representative or email hhs@fnkir.com.
About Harte Hanks
Harte Hanks (Nasdaq:HHS) is a leading global customer experience company whose mission is to partner with clients to provide them with CX strategy, data-driven analytics and actionable insights combined with seamless program execution to better understand, attract, and engage their customers.
Using its unparalleled resources and award-winning talent in the areas of Customer Care, Fulfillment and Logistics, and Marketing Services, Harte Hanks has a proven track record of driving results for some of the world’s premier brands including Bank of America, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever, Pfizer, HBOMax, Volvo, Ford, FedEx, Midea, Sony and IBM, among others. Headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Harte Hanks has over 2,500 employees in offices across the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
As used herein, “Harte Hanks” or “the Company” refers to Harte Hanks, Inc. and/or its applicable operating subsidiaries, as the context may require. Harte Hanks’ logo and name are trademarks of Harte Hanks.
Investor Relations Contact:
FNK IR Rob Fink or Tom Baumann (646) 809-4048 / (646) 349-6641 HHS@fnkir.com
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 4, 2023 / Engine Gaming and Media, Inc. (“Engine” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:GAME)(TSXV:GAME),a data-driven, gaming, media and influencer marketing platform company, today announced that it will issue a press release promptly after the market close on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, summarizing its financial results for the fiscal first quarter of 2023 ended November 30, 2022. The Company will also host a conference call the same day at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss its financial results in further detail. The call will conclude with Q&A from participants.
Please dial in at least 10 minutes before the start of the call to ensure timely participation.
A playback of the call will be available through January 24, 2023, on Engine Gaming and Media, Inc.’s Investor Relations website at ir.enginemediainc.com or via telephone replay by dialing 1-844-512-2921 or 1-412-317-6671. The Access Code is 13735206.
About Engine Gaming and Media, Inc.
Engine Gaming and Media, Inc. (NASDAQ:GAME)(TSXV:GAME) provides unparalleled live streaming data and social analytics, influencer relationship management and monetization, and programmatic advertising to support the world’s largest video gaming companies, brand marketers, ecommerce companies, media publishers and agencies to drive new streams of revenue. The company’s subsidiaries include Stream Hatchet, the global leader in gaming video distribution analytics; Sideqik, a social influencer marketing discovery, analytics, and activation platform; and Frankly Media, a digital publishing platform used to create, distribute, and monetize content across all digital channels. Engine Gaming generates revenue through a combination of software-as-a-service subscription fees, managed services, and programmatic advertising. For more information, please visit www.enginegaming.com.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Engine to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. In respect of the forward-looking information contained herein, Engine has provided such statements and information in reliance on certain assumptions that management believed to be reasonable at the time. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements stated herein to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information contained in this news release.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Engine does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf, except as required by applicable law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Company Contact:
Lou Schwartz 647-725-7765
Investor Relations Contact:
Shannon Devine MZ North America Main: 203-741-8811 GAME@mzgroup.us
SANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Entravision (NYSE: EVC), a leading global advertising solutions, media and technology company, today announced that Walter F. Ulloa, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, passed away of a sudden heart attack on December 31, 2022. He was 74 years old.
Entravision’s Board of Directors issued the following statement:
“We are profoundly saddened by the sudden passing of Walter Ulloa and extend our heartfelt condolences to Walter’s wife, son and entire family. Since founding Entravision more than 25 years ago, Walter has been an exceptional leader who transformed the company from a traditional multi-linear Spanish-language company that currently owns and operates approximately 100 domestic television and radio stations, to a global digital media powerhouse with a footprint that today reaches across more than 40 countries. Well-known and respected throughout the media industry, Walter’s passion, energy, and devotion to our company will be greatly missed. We have lost a leader and a friend.
Thanks to Walter’s dynamic leadership, Entravision has assembled an experienced management team that will continue to drive the company’s long-term growth strategy as we serve our customers, our partners, and our shareholders.”
The Board also announced today that it has appointed Chris Young, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, as Interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Young has over two decades of experience in banking and corporate finance across the media, advertising and technology industries and has served as Treasurer and CFO of Entravision since 2008. He originally joined Entravision in August 2000 as CFO of the Company’s outdoor advertising division, of which he became President in February 2004 prior to the division’s sale in May 2008.
The Board of Directors will continue to meet to discuss matters related to the orderly transition and is currently conducting a search for a full-time replacement for the role of Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Ulloa was a visionary in Spanish language broadcasting with nearly five decades of experience in television, radio and digital media. He co-founded Entravision in 1996, becoming the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, roles he held until his passing. Mr. Ulloa served as director and Chairman of Entravision’s Board of Directors since February 2000. From 1976 to 1989, Mr. Ulloa worked at KMEX-TV, Los Angeles, California as Operations Manager, Production Manager, News Director, Local Sales Manager and Account Executive. This was followed by seven successful years in development, management and ownership of Entravision’s predecessor entities.
About Entravision
Entravision is a leading global advertising, media and ad-tech solutions company connecting brands to consumers by representing top platforms and publishers. Our dynamic portfolio includes digital, television and audio offerings. Digital, our largest revenue segment, is comprised of four business units: our digital sales representation business; Smadex, our programmatic ad purchasing platform; our branding and mobile performance solutions business; and our digital audio business. Through our digital sales representation business, we connect global media companies such as Meta, Twitter, TikTok and Spotify with advertisers in primarily emerging growth markets worldwide. Smadex is our mobile-first demand side platform, enabling advertisers to execute performance campaigns using machine learning. We also offer a branding and mobile performance solutions business, which provides managed services to advertisers looking to connect with global consumers, primarily on mobile devices, and our digital audio business provides digital audio advertising solutions for advertisers in the Americas. In addition to digital, Entravision has 49 television stations and is the largest affiliate group of the Univision and UniMás television networks. Entravision also manages 45 primarily Spanish-language radio stations that feature nationally recognized, Emmy award-winning talent. Shares of Entravision Class A Common Stock trade on the NYSE under ticker: EVC. Learn more about our offerings at entravision.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which are included in accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results and performance in future periods to be materially different from any future results or performance suggested by the forward-looking statements in this press release. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from these expectations, and the Company disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements made by the Company. From time to time, these risks, uncertainties and other factors are discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
HOUSTON, Dec. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRCT) (“Direct Digital Holdings” or the “Company”), a leading advertising and marketing technology platform operating through its companies Colossus Media, LLC (“Colossus SSP”), Huddled Masses LLC (“Huddled Masses”) and Orange142, LLC (“Orange142”), today announced that the Company will participate in the 25th Annual ICR Conference from January 9-11, 2023 in Orlando, Florida.
Mark Walker, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Keith Smith, President, and Susan Echard, Chief Financial Officer, will participate in the conference. Management will be hosted in a fireside chat on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at 10:00 AM ET and will also be available for meetings. A replay of the fireside chat will be available the following day on the Direct Digital Holdings IR Website at https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/.
About Direct Digital Holdings
Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT), owner of operating companies Colossus SSP, Huddled Masses, and Orange 142, brings state-of-the-art sell- and buy-side advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell-side platform, Colossus SSP, offers advertisers of all sizes extensive reach within general market and multicultural media properties. The company’s subsidiaries Huddled Masses and Orange142 deliver significant ROI for middle market advertisers by providing data-optimized programmatic solutions at scale for businesses in sectors that range from energy to healthcare to travel to financial services. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell- and buy-side solutions manage approximately 90,000 clients monthly, generating over 100 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels. Direct Digital Holdings is the ninth black-owned company to go public in the U.S and was named a top minority-owned business by The Houston Business Journal.
NEW YORK, December 16, 2022 — Travelzoo® (NASDAQ: TZOO), a global Internet media company that provides exclusive offers and experiences for members, updates its guidance for the current quarter ending December 31, 2022, as follows: For Q4 2022, we expect substantially higher revenue of approx. $18.5 million, up 31% year-over-year.
Travelzoo provides this update to clarify that its revenue trend is different from travel suppliers or online travel agencies. As a media and membership business, Travelzoo is benefiting from demand for travel weakening from the heights of the post-pandemic pent-up demand. Travel suppliers are increasingly in need again to promote their offers to Travelzoo members.
Holger Bartel, Global CEO, said: “We have more and better offers for our members again, and revenue growth is accelerating.”
About Travelzoo Travelzoo® provides its 30 million members with exclusive offers and one-of-a-kind experiences personally reviewed by our deal experts around the globe. We have our finger on the pulse of outstanding travel, entertainment, and lifestyle experiences. We work in partnership with more than 5,000 top travel suppliers—our long-standing relationships give Travelzoo members access to irresistible deals.
Certain statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, expectations, prospects and intentions, markets in which we participate and other statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts. When used in this press release, the words “expect”, “predict”, “project”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “intend”, “plan”, “seek” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Because these forwardlooking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including changes in our plans, objectives, expectations, prospects and intentions and other factors discussed in our filings with the SEC. We cannot guarantee any future levels of activity, performance or achievements. Travelzoo undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.
