TEGNA Inc. achieved record political advertising revenue and less severe declines in core advertising revenue in 2020 than we initially expected. As a result, TEGNA's leverage declined to the low-4x area in 2020 compared to our previous forecast of leverage in the low-5x area. Although TEGNA's leverage could remain below 4.5x over the next year, we have limited visibility into the recovery of local advertising. As a result, we are affirming our 'BB-' issuer credit rating on TEGNA and revising our outlook to positive from negative. The positive outlook reflects our view that we could raise the rating if we have increased confidence in the recovery of local television advertising, therefore increasing our expectation that TEGNA will continue to sustain
