TORONTO — The parent of the CTV television network, OTT platform Crave (home to HBO programming in Canada), sports network TSN and a group of iHeartRadio-branded stations distributed Q4 2024 financial results on Thursday that President/CEO Mirko Bibic say represent “steady execution” as the company “balanced growth with profitability, while transforming our business and reducing costs.”
Net earnings grew by 16% for BCE and Bell Canada in the last three months of 2024, on flat revenue. But, how did its Media division perform?
Bell Media operating revenue increased 1.2% in Q4 to $832 million CDN, driven by both higher year-over-year advertising and subscriber revenues — good news in a challenging climate for Canadian media companies. Here’s the rub: advertising revenue was “up” 0.4% in Q4, and it’s all thanks to an uptick in Loonies and Toonies associated with digital advertising. The quarter was also noted for its “continued soft overall traditional TV advertiser demand.”
Like U.S. media companies, digital ad growth is the big takeaway for investors.
Subscriber revenue increased 2.0% in Q4 for Crave and the company’s sports direct-to-consumer streaming platform. And, total digital revenues grew 6% in Q4.
For full-year 2024, media operating revenue grew 1.1% to $3.151 billion CDN. Full-year total digital revenue for 2024 improved by 19%.
In fact, digital revenues represented 42% of total Bell Media revenue in 2024, up from 35% in 2023.
What did the company have to say about its radio stations? Not much, aside from listening rising 4% in 2024 “in a market that was down 4%.” The company’s radio brands include CHUM-FM 104.5 in Toronto, the ÉNERGIE group in Québec, Top 40 stations branded “Virgin Radio” under license, “Pure Country,” Adult Contemporary “MOVE Radio” and Adult Hits “Bounce Radio.”
Overall, adjusted net earnings in Q4 grew to $719 million CDN from $691 million CDN. Adjusted EBITDA increased to $2.61 billion, from $2.57 billion. Net earnings per common share rose 21% to $0.51 CDN from $0.42; on an adjusted basis, EPS grew to $0.79 from $0.76 in Canadian dollars.
Looking ahead, 2025 guidance was offered by the company:
— With reporting by Adam Jacobson in Boca Raton, Fla. Additional reporting by RBR+TVBR in Vaughn, Ont.
