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Gray Media (NYSE: GTN) reported first-quarter 2026 revenue at the high end of its guidance range, supported by stronger-than-expected core advertising and political advertising revenue that also landed at the top of the company’s outlook.
Executive Chairman and CEO Hilton Howell said total revenue for the quarter was $768 million. Operating expenses before depreciation, amortization, impairment, and gains or losses on asset disposals were $622 million, down $7 million from the comparable period last year. Broadcasting expenses declined $22 million from the first quarter of 2025, Howell said.
The company posted a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $33 million and adjusted EBITDA of $154 million for the quarter. Political advertising revenue was $30 million, compared with $26 million in the first quarter of 2022, the last comparable midterm cycle.
President and Co-CEO Pat LaPlatney said first-quarter core advertising revenue finished up 2% year over year, outperforming initial guidance for approximately flat results. He attributed part of the strength to the Winter Olympics.
LaPlatney said core advertising trends are softer in the second quarter, citing uncertainty tied to the situation in the Middle East and oil price volatility. He said those factors have led some advertisers to delay commitments. He also noted that the NCAA Final Four rotated away from CBS this year, after Gray earned $5 million of revenue in April 2025 as the largest CBS affiliate group.
By category, LaPlatney said gaming remained strong into the second quarter. Legal, insurance and financial services also performed well, while automotive was down only slightly versus the prior-year quarter. Consumer goods and discount and department stores were weaker.
Digital revenue continued to grow, increasing in the high teens from the first quarter of 2025. LaPlatney said new local direct business growth accelerated to 15% over the same period.
Gray guided for second-quarter core advertising revenue to decline by mid-single digits from the second quarter of 2025. Political advertising revenue for the second quarter is expected to be between $60 million and $70 million.
Howell said Gray and Dish resolved what he described as the first extended distribution blackout in the company’s history. He said negotiations were difficult for both sides and that Gray regretted the impact on local viewers and advertisers. The companies reached a new multi-year agreement that Howell said was consistent with internal expectations.
Since the start of the year, Gray renewed retransmission consent agreements with three of its largest traditional multichannel video programming distributors, representing about 39% of its traditional MVPD footprint. The company also expanded agreements with two virtual MVPDs related to independent stations carrying professional sports. Howell said Gray has no further retransmission negotiations for the rest of 2026.
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Gignac said net retransmission revenue declined by $4 million in the first quarter from a year earlier. He said the recently resolved distribution dispute was not anticipated when the company issued its first-quarter guidance. Gignac said Gray expects 2026 net retransmission revenue to be in “the same zip code” as the first quarter, implying low-single-digit growth for the full year before the impact of certain acquisitions.
During the Q&A, Gignac said the outlook reflected better subscriber trends and Gray achieving its objectives in contract renewals. Chief Legal and Development Officer Kevin Latek declined to discuss specific contract terms but described one demand in the Dish dispute as “incredibly unprecedented,” calling it a one-off.
Management expressed optimism about the 2026 midterm political advertising cycle. LaPlatney said Gray saw strong first-quarter political spending in Texas, Maine, Virginia, Georgia and Michigan.
Latek said Gray has exposure to all but one of the competitive governor and Senate races this year. He said the current cycle appears different from 2022, when large amounts of spending were pulled forward into primaries, and that more spending is likely to be deployed toward general elections.
Howell said Gray is “exceptionally well-positioned” based on its markets and station positions and described the political cycle as likely to be “extraordinarily strong.” He cautioned that the company would not forecast specific full-year political revenue figures beyond its guidance.
Howell highlighted recent and pending transactions. In the first quarter, Gray acquired WBBJ in Jackson, Tennessee, from Bahakel. The company also recently completed acquisitions of television stations in 10 markets from Allen Media Group and closed acquisitions of stations in three markets from Block Communications. Howell said Gray expects to close remaining transactions with E.W. Scripps and SagamoreHill in the next few weeks.
Gignac said Gray ended the first quarter with more than $1 billion in liquidity. As of March 31, leverage metrics were 2.56 times consolidated first-lien net leverage, 3.79 times consolidated secured net leverage, and 5.94 times consolidated total net leverage, using calculations under its amended senior credit agreement.
He said Gray amended its senior credit agreement on March 31 to align it with covenants under its secured notes and incorporate current market standards. The company repaid the $10 million balance on its Term Loan F, scheduled to mature in 2029.
Gignac said refinancing to reduce interest expense could further improve cash flow during 2026. First-quarter capital expenditures were $19 million, compared with $15 million in the prior-year period. Gray maintained its $140 million companywide capital expenditure estimate for 2026. The company lowered its full-year tax guidance by $25 million to a range of $90 million to $110 million.
LaPlatney said 19 Major League Baseball teams will play across Gray’s 16 broadcast sports networks this year, along with 13 NBA teams, 8 NHL teams, 6 WNBA teams, and various NCAA and Minor League Baseball teams. He also said Raycom Sports partnered with the Atlanta Braves as the live production team for BravesVision.
LaPlatney said Gray’s digital team completed the transition of all company digital apps and websites to the Quickplay platform, which he said provides a foundation for continued digital audience and advertising growth.
At Assembly Studios, Howell said CBS renewed the daytime soap “Beyond the Gates” for two additional seasons, with the first two seasons filmed at Assembly. He also said INTENNSE Tennis will host all 52 matches of its 2026 season in a 30,000-square-foot soundstage at Assembly Studios.
Howell said the FIFA World Cup should benefit Gray through its 33 Fox channels and 47 Telemundo affiliates, with the event expected to be particularly strong for its Spanish-language Telemundo portfolio while also benefiting its Fox stations.
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