Nexstar Media Group Inc Q1 2025 Earnings Call Summary

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Dan Kurnos - The Benchmark Company, LLC - Analyst : Great, thanks. Good morning. Also a nice job on expenses, Lee Ann. Perry, let me just, let, let's just ask one broad regulatory question. Let's say trustee hypothetically gets confirmed, I don't know, end of this month you said summer. What would that mean for the timeline of when you think things start moving? And given all of the commentary we've now had from car, we've got the Simonton op ed now. Do we think an NRM would be shortly forthcoming? Do you proactively test the market and how much do you think the FCC can accomplish versus what has to go to Congress?

Question: Dan Kurnos - The Benchmark Company, LLC - Analyst : Thanks very much, Perry. Looking forward to it.

Question: Stephen Cahall - Wells Fargo Securities LLC - Analyst : Thank you. Maybe first just to follow up on Dan's question and your comments there, Perry. So, if we do get an NPRM, I think there's precedent of deals, being proposed under the conditionality of the FCC's new procedures under an NPRM. Are you comfortable sort of putting pen to paper and beginning to transact when the process is at that phase but maybe does still face some challenges in the courts. So that's just the first one as we think about that timeline, and then secondly, and I know you don't update EBITDA guidance as we go through the year. Overall, it seems like things are really performing pretty close to the trends that you had suggested when you gave the initial guide in February. So, we just roll everything up, the ad market may be a little bit worse, your expenses will look pretty good. The CW guidance didn't change. So, any meaningful puts or takes that you think we should be aware of in terms of how the overall year looks to be trending. Thank you.

Question: Stephen Cahall - Wells Fargo Securities LLC - Analyst : Thank you, very helpful.

Question: Benjamin Soff - Deutsche Bank - Analyst : Good morning, everyone. Thanks for the question. As you guys talked about, we've seen the levels of chord cutting throughout the industry moderate again this quarter. I'm curious if and when you think that will start to show up in results for Nexstar if it hasn't already, and what does that mean for your upcoming slate of renewals later this year? And then appreciate all the color on advertising. I was hoping you could spend a little bit more time with what you're seeing more recently. And I believe in the last quarter you talked about aspiring to get positive growth in that line for the year. Is that still a reasonable expectation? Thank you.

Question: Benjamin Soff - Deutsche Bank - Analyst : Aaron Watts, Deutsche Bank

Question: Jason Bazinet - Citi - Analyst : I also had a regulatory question. Is there a sense that the that the industry, that there's broad agreement among potential sellers, the consolidation should happen and therefore, in your seat, you may have the choice of pursuing several different paths in terms of M&A in other words.

Question: Jason Bazinet - Citi - Analyst : Can I ask one follow up, and this may be too legal, but I'm going to try. I heard your point about the FCC potentially doing the waivers and about the NPRM. The one thing that that I don't know how to think about is, I think it was last year the Supreme Court sort of REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 08, 2025 / 2:00PM, NXST.OQ - Q1 2025 Nexstar Media Group Inc Earnings Call pushed back on Chevron deference, meaning robbing the expert agencies of some of the power that they've historically had and sort of forcing Congress to be more explicit about changes that take place as opposed to just pushing it down to an expert agency like the FCC to do the rulemaking. Do you feel that that shift at the Supreme Court is a potential flying ointment that would require congressional action as opposed to relying on the FCC as the expert agency, or is that a sort of a red herring?

Question: Jason Bazinet - Citi - Analyst : Thank you very much.

Question: Patrick Scholl - Barrington Research Associates, Inc. - Analyst : Hi, good morning. A question on the ad market. You mentioned the growth in the services sector in the last trade war. I was just kind of curious, how much of that was increased, penetration of getting new advertisers on the TV and just, within the various service categories where you feel TV is relatively underutilized from those, advertisers?

Question: Barton Crockett - Rosenblatt Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Hi, great. Thanks for taking the question. I guess if I could too, but the first one is really on this regulatory question. So, I get the FCC, but I'm wondering about the DOJ and antitrust. How much of an impediment could that be? And then kind of within that question, historically I think there's been this very reasonable thought that they should include in the market definition, these things that have been, accused by the government of monopoly like search and social. Does that need to change? Do you see any prospects that could change under this administration?

Question: Barton Crockett - Rosenblatt Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Now, if I could ask kind of a, an adjacent question. To what degree in Nexstar specifically in local television generally. Is this, emerging kind of form of programmatic and connected TV advertising that's part of what Netflix is doing and just a lot of momentum around that generally that we see at the national networks? I don't really hear you guys talking about that locally or see it that much, and to what degree is that kind of change? Should it change? Can it change?

Question: Barton Crockett - Rosenblatt Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Okay, great. Thank you.

Question: Craig Huber - Huber Research Partners LLC - Analyst : Great, thank you. I want to ask you, Perry, about this proposal or this [oped] out there about capping reverse [retrains] at at 30% of [retrains] revenues for your companies and stuff, and you sort of think about it, I want to hear your comment on this if you could please. We've been talking about for years and years about deregulating your stuff out there in market rules of 39% ownership cap, and all of a sudden now, there's this potential out there of a 30% cap on the reverse [retrein] side of things here. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 08, 2025 / 2:00PM, NXST.OQ - Q1 2025 Nexstar Media Group Inc Earnings Call I mean, when I sit back and think about the FCC, the Trump administration, Congress that they got involved here. They're either deregulatory, leave us alone or they're not. I mean, why does it make sense to get rid of 39% ownership cap, which I am sympathetic with in the market rules certainly on board with that as well. But then why put in place a cap on the [retrains] payment side of things here surely benefit. I think you guys on the surface, but there's an unintended consequence that I think of the networks, I would think logically would just pull back how much money they spent on programming that they put on your TV stations and your peers out there and stuff. So can you just comment on that because it seems totally inconsistent to them. I'm just baffled by the whole thing, frankly.

Question: Craig Huber - Huber Research Partners LLC - Analyst : And then thank you for that. And then Lee Ann, if you could just comment if you would on the CW losses year over year in the first quarter, is it ballpark maybe roughly $10 million worse in the first quarter here, because of the higher sports program I understand. And what is your outlook if you could quantify that what your outlook is the CW losses for the full year? Thank you.

Question: Craig Huber - Huber Research Partners LLC - Analyst : Great, thank you. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 08, 2025 / 2:00PM, NXST.OQ - Q1 2025 Nexstar Media Group Inc Earnings Call

Question: Alan Gould - oop Capital Markets - Analyst : Thanks for taking the question too, please. Parry, speaking of the fifth network, just wondering where you stand in repricing your CW, fees to your station partners, your affiliates, and secondly on advertising, just curious how big a difference there is on your advertising your sports product versus your news product versus your general entertainment product. Thank you.

Question: Alan Gould - oop Capital Markets - Analyst : Sure, when you're selling advertising, how big a difference are you seeing selling advertising on sports content versus news content versus general entertainment content?

Question: Alan Gould - oop Capital Markets - Analyst : Okay. Thank you. Thank you. We have reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the call back over to Mr. Sook for any closing remarks.