With Catherine Badalamente now at the helm as President/CEO of Detroit-headquartered Graham Media Group, the recently appointed successor to now-retired Emily Barr has much to cheer about after just weeks in the role.
The division of Graham Holdings Company with roots to the former owner of The Washington Post enjoyed revenue growth across its seven broadcast TV stations and its provider of social media management tools designed to connect newsrooms with their users.
Revenue at the television broadcasting division increased 9% to $123.4 million from $113.6 million.
The revenue increase is due to a $2.5 million increase in retransmission revenues, a $2.4 million increase in political advertising revenue, and increases from winter Olympics and Super Bowl advertising revenue at the company’s NBC affiliates in the first quarter of 2022.
Among Graham’s properties are KPRC-2 in Houston; WSLS-10 in Roanoke-Lynchburg; and flagship station WDIV “LOCAL 4” in Detroit.
Operating income for Graham Media grew to $39.9 million from $33.0 million in Q1 2022, due to increased revenues that were partially offset by higher network fees. Expenses rose by 4%, to $83.52 million.
Graham Media’s revenues are the third-largest for Graham Holdings, behind Automotive, which saw a big surge in activity as supply chain issues eased at its dealerships, and Education. The Education segment includes the Kaplan-branded unit.
