Corus earnings lag in Q1 despite efforts to stop the bleeding

Corus Entertainment Inc. experienced a challenging first quarter of fiscal 2025, marked by continued declines in revenue and profitability across both its television and radio segments. The company’s overall revenue decreased by 12 per cent year-over-year to $327.2 million, while profits fell by 30 per cent to $84.2 million. During a conference call with analysts on Friday, Jan. 10, co-CEOs John Gossling and Troy Reeb blamed much of their financial woes on a challenging advertising market, largely driven by increasing competition with foreign streaming platforms. Corus had a “blowout quarter” in terms of audience numbers, they said, reporting a 24 per cent increase of total hours streamed across its online platforms year-over-year, an eight per cent increase in Global News viewers on linear TV, a 31 per cent increase on the Global News website, and a 52 per cent spike on Pluto TV. However, these gains – along with substantial cost-cutting measures and a rebrand of two of its lifestyle networks after the Canadian rights to several Warner Bros. Discovery channels were snapped up by Rogers Communications Inc. – have not been enough to offset the company’s other challenges. The executives acknowledged that there is ongoing uncertainty in the ad market and further cost reductions and debt management initiatives could be on the horizon. “We are making steady progress on necessary work to address less sustainable parts of the business and create a smaller but more profitable business,” said Gossling. The two did not provide specifics on their next moves to “right-size the balance sheet,” but assured analysts that there is a “very active plan” that they are working on. “We're working hard to position Corus for a more sustainable future, and while we continue to forge necessary changes at Corus, we also urgently need to see regulations and the industry playing field adapt to support the sustainability of Canadian broadcasting,” said Reeb. READ MORE: - Replies flow to CRTC on Independent Local News Fund - Corus reports drops in revenue, profit during Q3 as layoffs continue - CRTC grants Corus, TVA CanCon relief; other BDUs must wait The co-CEO applauded the CRTC’s recent announcement of a consultation on market dynamics in the broadcasting sector, adding that it is “imperative that Canadians have a broadcasting system with fair, transparent, and competitive rules of engagement between broadcasters and distributors,” both in the online and traditional television spheres. When it comes to the market dynamics between Corus and major streamers, Reeb highlighted the troubles of competing for ad space with the same companies that it has distribution agreements with, such as its deal with Amazon to deliver advertising on its StackTV streaming package. “We now compete with for that ad load, just as we now compete with some of our distribution partners in the traditional sense for program rights,” said Reeb. He also emphasized how major streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Paramount Plus, and Disney Plus, flooded the market with advertising space as they all introduced ad tiers to their services, driving down ad prices. When the 2023 Hollywood strikes ended, advertisers that went looking for alternatives “did not come back to traditional TV as quickly as we would have liked,” Reeb added. Revenues for Corus’ TV division declined by 11 per cent to $303.63 million, while its radio sector saw a 14 per cent drop to $23.54 million. TV profits decreased 29 per cent to $85.96 million, while radio profits saw a smaller drop of 15 per cent to $3.87 million. news@thewirereport.ca

Corus earnings lag in Q1 despite efforts to stop the bleeding

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By Wire Report Staff
| January 13, 2025

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Corus earnings lag in Q1 despite efforts to stop the bleeding

Broadcast | By Wire Report Staff | January 13, 2025

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