Nexstar Revenue Up 31%

Nexstar Broadcasting reported $97.1 million in fourth quarter revenue, a 31.2% increase over the same quarter a year before. The performance was paced by gross political revenues, which were up a whopping 515%, and gross local revenues, which were up 7.1%. Nexstar also reported big gains in online business (16.1%), retransmission (19.9%) and management fee revenue (459.8%).

Nexstar reported $522,000 in "network comp", down 1.3% over the same quarter in 2009.

"Nexstar's record quarterly financial results highlight our significant revenue diversification progress which drove the highest quarterly results in the company's history," said Perry A. Sook, chairman, president and CEO of Nexstar. "Our success in driving profitable revenue growth reflects the strength of our core local content, ability to develop distribution and digital extensions for our core content including the creation of new online, text and mobile content and applications, and the benefit derived from leveraging our management operating disciplines to provide services to other broadcasters."

Sook said Nexstar's net revenue was nearly 21% higher over the same period in 2008, which was a presidential election year.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.