Earnings Call Transcript - NXST Q2 2025

Joseph N. Jaffoni, Investor Relations

Thank you, Melissa, and good morning, everyone. I'll start by reading the safe harbor language, and then we'll get right into the call. All statements and comments made by management during this conference call other than statements of historical fact, may be deemed forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Nexstar cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by the forward-looking statements made during this call. For additional details on these risks and uncertainties, please see Nexstar's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Nexstar's subsequent public filings with the SEC. Nexstar undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. It's now my pleasure to turn the conference over to your host, Nexstar Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Perry Sook. Perry, please go ahead.

Perry A. Sook, CEO

Thank you, Joe, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you all joining us today. Mike Biard, our Chief Operating Officer; and Lee Ann Gliha, our Chief Financial Officer, are with me here this morning. Nexstar delivered another solid quarter of financial results with our second quarter net revenue, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted free cash flow, benefiting from better-than-expected advertising revenue, stable distribution revenue and strong expense management. Overall, our core advertising business remains resilient, while the pay TV landscape continues to evolve as we had anticipated. Though we have yet to see a definitive turnaround in video subscriber trends, we are encouraged by consistent early signs of improvement with good reports in recent weeks from two of our largest MVPDs. For the first half of 2025, Nexstar generated adjusted EBITDA of $770 million and adjusted free cash flow of nearly $450 million. We returned $238 million or 53% of adjusted free cash flow to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, reducing our shares outstanding by about 1% while also allocating $132 million to debt repayment. Near the end of the quarter, we refinanced the company's credit facilities and term loans, further strengthening our capital structure and our financial flexibility by extending maturities, which positions our balance sheet well in anticipation of expected regulatory relief on the ownership front. The case for local broadcast ownership deregulation remains strong and extends far beyond competitive fairness. It's becoming increasingly clear that bias, acknowledged and now admitted in editorial coverage by legacy national networks, false information provided by AI and social media disinformation are making it almost impossible for Americans to distinguish between fact, opinion and fiction. We firmly believe that Nexstar and the local broadcast industry at large are a solution to these threats. Every day, our local national news teams bring the public unbiased fact-based news reporting and information from 113 newsrooms in markets across the country and nationally on NewsNation. We employ almost 6,000 journalists in total, which is more than any other media company in the United States. Our news teams all adhere to a strict journalistic code of ethics and are dedicated to bringing communities trusted information and local stories that matter to them. For example, in Central Texas, during the immediate aftermath of the devastating Guadalupe River flooding, our local reporters were on the ground, providing essential news coverage and safety information to our local communities as well as national audiences via NewsNation. In addition to covering those events, Nexstar station teams in Abilene, San Angelo and Austin came together to raise nearly $1.4 million for flood victims during a one-hour telethon. Many also volunteered at local relief organizations to help gather and distribute supplies to those in need. Meanwhile, on Big Tech social media platforms, charlatans chasing clicks circulated misleading videos, some AI-generated and others recycled from unrelated disasters in different states or countries, falsely claiming to depict the Central Texas floods. Others exploited the tragedy by creating fake fundraising pages to scam well-meaning donors. This kind of misinformation and malfeasance undermines search and rescue efforts, erodes public trust and diverts critical resources from legitimate relief organizations. Unfortunately, this is just another clear example of how Big Tech's unchecked reach and prioritization of engagement over accuracy fuels the rapid spread of fake news. Nexstar's commitment to high-quality, trustworthy journalism continues to deliver strong viewership, earning trust along with local and national aficionados. Ad Fontes, the respected third-party media watchdog, has rated virtually all news programming provided by Nexstar local stations as well as NewsNation as politically neutral with a reliable rating. In the second quarter, our local journalists earned 52 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for outstanding journalism and exceptional locally produced news programming. Public trust in local broadcast journalism remains strong, with Americans citing local television news as the number one most trusted news source according to a 2024 TBB survey. Audiences of all ages and demographics are tuning into our local news and to other programming, with nearly half of Nexstar's 2024 station viewership coming from non-network programming. That last point is important. We've seen the number of publications misrepresent data from the latest Nielsen Gauge reports by stating that streaming accounts for over 50% of total viewership. The data reflected in that report only includes information from Nielsen's national panel and completely excludes local station viewership of local content, which we know to be substantial. If you look exclusively at national viewership of long-form, ad-supported programming, the metric that matters most to advertisers, broadcasting and cable together account for 70% of total ad impressions. We believe that the continued strength of our broadcast and cable news assets is a direct result of our long-term strategic focus on high-impact news and sports programming. We began in 2019 by converting WGN America, the entertainment network we acquired in the Tribune acquisition, into NewsNation. We made a similar strategic decision with our acquisition of the majority stake in The CW broadcast network in 2022, shifting its focus from scripted series to more broad-based and audience-expanding programming, including a full slate of live sports. I'm proud to share that we achieved several operational milestones during the quarter, highlighting the continued success of our strategies. In April, we celebrated NewsNation's one-year anniversary of expanding its news programming to become a 24/7 cable news network. In June, NewsNation was ranked the number one basic cable network for year-over-year growth with overall viewership increasing by nearly 50% and by 67% in the adults aged 25-54 demographic according to Nielsen. We believe NewsNation's programming and unique fact-based reporting is resonating with viewers who are looking for a refreshingly balanced and impartial take on the news. At The CW, we've now achieved five consecutive quarters of audience growth, and The CW was the number 8 ranked network in total audience for total audience growth for the first half of 2025. This is a direct result of the success of our programming strategy, including the introduction of sports, which now accounts for over 40% of our total programming hours. Turning to regulatory reform, there have been significant positive developments since our last earnings call. In mid-July, the FCC moved to refresh the record on the national ownership cap, opening the door for a new order from the FCC to modify or eliminate the cap, perhaps by the end of this year. We filed our comments on Monday in that proceeding. On July 23, the Eighth Circuit vacated a Top-Four rule, which prohibits the owner of television broadcast stations from owning two of the Top-Four rated stations in the local market, finding that the FCC's historical justification for retaining the rule was arbitrary and capricious. We applaud Chairman Carr's vocal support of the court's decision, describing the FCC's prior retention of the Top-Four prohibition as a decision to retain a regulation that does not match marketplace realities. In summary, the continued success and consistency of Nexstar's financial performance reflects our stable diversified revenue base, disciplined operations and continued execution across our portfolio. With our unmatched scale, robust free cash flow and consistent track record of delivering value, we remain well positioned to seize the significant opportunities that lie ahead. We are energized by the prospects of regulatory reform, and we remain laser-focused on executing on our 2025 objectives, which include renewing upcoming distribution agreements, continuing The CW's path to profitability next year, and preparing for significant midterm election activity again in 2026. With that said, let me turn the call now over to Mike Biard. Mike?

Michael Biard, CFO

Thanks, Perry, and good morning, everyone. Nexstar delivered second quarter net revenue of $1.23 billion, a decline of 3.2% compared to the prior year, primarily reflecting the year-over-year reduction in political advertising. Second quarter distribution revenue of $733 million was essentially flat compared to the prior year quarter primarily reflecting the modest number of subscribers renewed in 2024 compared to 2023 and MVPD subscriber attrition, partially offset by contractual rate escalators, growth in vMVPD subscribers, and the addition of CW affiliations on certain of our stations. Although the industry continues to see subscriber attrition, we note recent earnings reports from our distribution partners suggest marginal improvements in subscriber trends. Several industry observers have noted Charter's trending video performance, with at least one highlighting video as a significant opportunity in the context of the Cox transaction. We're encouraged by those trends and continue to monitor the space closely as we work to secure agreements that are better aligned with the value Nexstar delivers to our partners and their customers. Advertising revenue of $475 million decreased $47 million or 9% over the comparable prior year quarter, primarily reflecting a $36 million year-over-year decrease in political advertising. Nonpolitical advertising declined by 2.5% year-over-year, slightly better than our expectations. Nonpolitical advertising was impacted by a high single-digit decline in goods-based advertising, of which more than half was attributable to the automotive category, and a slight reduction in services-based advertising, though this segment remains much more stable and resilient overall. Contributing positively to the quarter, we saw growth in key categories, including attorneys and home repair, along with improved performance from some of our national digital businesses, including BestReviews. We generated approximately $9 million in political advertising revenue during the quarter, primarily driven by issue spending related to the One Big, Beautiful Bill, the New York City Mayoral primary and the Virginia primaries. Looking ahead to the third quarter, nonpolitical advertising is currently forecast to be down in the low single digits on a year-over-year basis. This is despite the comp of 2024 Olympic-related advertising and the benefit in part from the lack of political crowd-out in the quarter. Although some broader economic headlines may suggest caution, our view of the advertising outlook remains stable for now. As we noted on last quarter's call, approximately 15% of our total revenue is tied to goods-based businesses that could be impacted by tariffs. Turning to CW, as Perry mentioned earlier, we continue to see favorable returns on our programming investments, with sports now accounting for more than 40% of the CW's programming hours, and we continue to build the CW Sports portfolio. During the second quarter, we renewed our agreement with the Pac-12 conference to nationally broadcast nine college football games this fall, including a new Pac-12 double feature on Saturday, September 6, showcasing two of the key schools that will anchor the expanded Pac-12 conference next year. We also announced a multiyear partnership with the Professional Bowlers Association to air ten live events on Sunday afternoon beginning in 2026. In July, we announced a multiyear agreement with Professional Bull Riders to be the exclusive live broadcast partner of the PBR team's series on Saturdays and Sundays. The CW will air the first of eleven PBR events this year this coming Saturday, August 9. Our sports programming continues to perform well, demonstrating both the power of broadcast television and the CW network specifically. Both WWE NXT and NASCAR Xfinity racing ratings are up 7% and 16%, respectively, versus the second quarter of last year when those events were primarily on cable. Moreover, our entire CW programming strategy is working. As mentioned, we've seen five consecutive quarters of primetime ratings growth, elevating the CW in position as the eighth most watched network overall for the first half of this year. On any given night, CW is now beating the Big 4 networks with regularity, with 126 instances since the beginning of this broadcast season in October 2024 versus 53 in the entire prior season, firmly establishing the CW as a major broadcast network. In the second quarter, as expected, the CW's profitability improved by $21 million year-over-year, driven by reduced amortization of broadcast rights and lower operating expenses following our Q4 restructuring. Our outlook for the year remains unchanged, and we continue to project improved profitability of about 25% in 2025 over 2024 with our continued expectation of achieving profitability in 2026. In addition, the company continues to benefit from moving CW affiliations to our owned and operated stations. During the quarter, we finalized agreements to move three additional CW affiliations next month to Nexstar stations in Charlotte, North Carolina, Erie, Pennsylvania, and Elmira, New York. To close, let me reiterate confidence in Nexstar's long-term outlook and the enduring strength of our broadcast business model. Our news and sports-focused programming strategies continue to deliver demonstrable results for the CW and NewsNation, and we remain committed to unlocking greater value from these valuable assets as our audiences continue to expand. As the industry continues to evolve, we believe the momentum is shifting in favor of our core businesses, and we remain committed to pursuing opportunities that drive long-term value for our shareholders. With that, it's my pleasure to turn the call over to Lee Ann for the remainder of the financial review. Lee Ann?

Lee Ann Gliha, CFO

Thank you, Mike, and good morning, everyone. Mike gave you most of the details on the revenue side and on the CW. So I'll provide a review of expenses, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted free cash flow, along with a review of our capital allocation activities. Together, second quarter direct operating and SG&A expenses, excluding D&A and corporate expenses, declined by $13 million or 2%, primarily driven by our operational restructuring initiatives undertaken in the fourth quarter, offset in part by increased variable expenses related to our growth in digital revenue. Q2 2025 total corporate expense was $64 million, including non-cash compensation expense of $21 million compared to $54 million, including non-cash compensation expense of $20 million in the second quarter of 2024. The $10 million increase is primarily due to one-time expenses associated with the refinancing we completed in the quarter. Q2 2025 depreciation and amortization was $197 million versus $208 million in the comparable prior year quarter, a decrease of $11 million. Of these amounts included in our definition of adjusted EBITDA is $79 million related to the amortization of broadcast rights for Q2 of 2025 compared to $87 million for Q2 2024. The decrease in amortization of broadcast rights by $8 million was primarily due to lower programming costs of CW versus the comparable prior year quarter. Q2 2025 income from equity method investments, which primarily reflects our 31% ownership in the TV Food Network, declined by $5 million versus the comparable prior year quarter, primarily related to TV Food Network's lower revenue. Putting it all together on a consolidated basis, second quarter adjusted EBITDA was $389 million, representing a 31.7% margin and a decrease of $25 million from the second quarter 2024 of $414 million. Moving to the components of free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow. Second quarter CapEx was $29 million, a decrease from $37 million in the second quarter of last year due primarily to the timing of CapEx projects and lower total amount of CapEx in non-election years. Second quarter net interest expense was $97 million, a reduction of $16 million from the second quarter of 2024. On a cash basis, this compares to $94 million in Q2 2025 versus $110 million in Q2 2024. The reduction in interest expense was primarily related to a reduction in SOFR and Nexstar's reduced debt balances. Second quarter operating cash taxes were $140 million compared to $164 million last year. Payments for capitalized software obligations and pension credits net of proceeds from disposal of assets and insurance recoveries were $14 million versus $16 million in last year's Q2. Cash distributions from the Food Network were $11 million in the second quarter, which amount is captured in our free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow definition. This amount reflects our pro-rata share of distribution to cover tax from our proportionate share in the income of the JV. Included in the second quarter's adjusted EBITDA, but excluded from adjusted free cash flow is $11 million of income for amortization from equity method investments, which is primarily our pro-rata share of Food Network net income in the second quarter of 2025. In Q2, programming amortization costs were lower than cash payments by $2 million compared to Q2 '24 as certain deferred programming payments were paid. Putting this all together, consolidated second quarter 2025 adjusted free cash flow was $101 million as compared to $77 million in last year's Q2. A few additional points of guidance with respect to adjusted free cash flow. We are currently projecting CapEx of $25 million to $30 million in Q3. Based on the current yield curve and our mandatory amortization, Q3 interest expense is expected to be in the $93 million range. Q3 2025 cash taxes are expected to be in the $35 million to $40 million range. And in Q3 '25, cash distributions from the Food Network are expected to be in the low to mid-single-digit million dollar range, and payments for programming are expected to be in excess of amortization by about $25 million due primarily to the prepayment of future programming payments and payment of deferred programming. Turning to capital allocation and our balance sheet. Together with the cash from operations generated in the quarter and cash on hand, we returned $106 million to shareholders comprised of $56 million in dividends and the repurchase of $50 million of stock at an average price of $159.71 per share, reducing our shares outstanding. During the quarter, we completed the refinancing of our revolver, Term Loan A and Term Loan B and Mission completed the refinancing of its revolver. In connection with the refinancing, we extended our maturities on our revolvers and Term Loan A to June 2030 and extended the maturity on our Term Loan B to June 2032. In addition, we increased the size of our revolver to $750 million and eliminated the 10 to 11 basis point credit spread adjustment across all the facilities we refinanced. In addition, we converted our covenant calculation to reflect a last eight quarters annualized EBITDA calculation for the denominator to better align with broadcast industry practice and better reflect our leverage across an election year where we generate additional political advertising revenue and a non-election year when we do not. We closed the refinancing on June 27, and Nexstar's outstanding debt at June 30, 2025, was $6.4 billion, a reduction of $101 million for the quarter as we made optional repayments on our debt balances. Our cash balance at quarter end was $234 million, including $23 million of cash related to the CW. Because we designated the CW as an unrestricted subsidiary, the losses associated with the CW are not included in our calculation of leverage for purposes of our credit agreement. As such, our net first lien covenant ratio for Nexstar at June 30, 2025, which is now calculated on the last eight-quarter annualized basis, was 1.81x, which is well below our first lien and only covenant of 4.25x. Total net leverage for Nexstar was 3.9x at quarter end. These leverage statistics are calculated pursuant to the description in our credit agreement. With that, I will open up the call for questions. Operator, can you go to our first question?

Operator, Operator

Our first question comes from Dan Kurnos with the Benchmark Company.

Daniel Louis Kurnos, Analyst

Obviously, nice print, guys. Perry, just any quick thoughts on Chairman Carr continuing to write letters to the networks? And if there might be any changes coming in the way the affiliate relationships are handled? And then from an M&A perspective, how do you think about the in-market opportunity versus cap expansion if the cap does get raised? You've obviously got JSAs to go after. You have a very enviable balance sheet position. So if there's any way to frame broadly sort of what you might be looking at or any size parameters to consider that would be super helpful.

Perry A. Sook, CEO

We'll begin by reflecting on that. In terms of acquisition opportunities, expanding our national presence is likely more strategically important to the company than simply doubling our presence in markets where we already have a station, as we've essentially already doubled in about half of those markets. However, our M&A activities will continue to be guided by what we believe is the best use of our financial resources and balance sheet, focused on enhancing shareholder value. I can't provide a definitive statement on that. From our point of view, there are many discussions taking place, and generally speaking, everyone is engaging with each other. From those interactions, we aim to find favorable opportunities that enable us to generate shareholder value significantly beyond what could be achieved through merely repurchasing our own shares. This gives a general overview of the M&A landscape. Of course, given our balance sheet, we might consider slightly increasing our leverage profile for a suitable acquisition. Additionally, leveraging the free cash flow of the target provides an opportunity for potential upside. Regarding Chairman Carr and his correspondence with the networks, we view that situation as something between him and the networks. We have a strong interest in the outcome, but I believe the administration and Chairman Carr seek to ensure a balanced relationship. It is a mutually beneficial connection. The networks rely on us for distributing their programming and advertisements, while we depend on them for content. As we buy exclusivity as part of our programming from the networks, the diminishing exclusivity of that programming reduces its value to us. Therefore, we will present our position to the networks through private negotiations. I also think it’s appropriate for Chairman Carr to evaluate this relationship and assess whether it is balanced or perhaps favored too much in one direction, and we commend him for raising these questions.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Jason Bazinet with Citi.

Jason Boisvert Bazinet, Analyst

I have a two-part question regarding M&A. First, do you consider it important to increase your owned and operated stations in the CW as you evaluate M&A opportunities, or can you continue to grow organically like you have since gaining control of the CW? Second, I believe you mentioned in the last call that you don't feel the need for all regulations to be finalized before announcing a transaction. Could you clarify what happens if a transaction is announced and a broadcaster or pay TV company challenges the FCC's decision in court? It seems quite complex, so any additional insights would be appreciated.

Perry A. Sook, CEO

Sure. As it relates to the rules and regulations promulgated currently by the FCC, there are waiver processes in place to get the waiver to own two of the Top-Four rated stations in the marketplace. So perhaps what I was referring to, that rule doesn't have to change for those kinds of transactions to happen, and you see some folks have proposed transactions like that that will go through the regulatory process. I think it's important to understand that the FCC has a regulatory process: when you file an application and then it gets put on public notice. People can comment, and then the reply comments, and the FCC will do its work. And so that all takes time. And I think what I was referring to is other things can happen during that time as well. For example, just the FCC could choose to rule on this refresh the record proceeding and could choose to, based on the Eighth Circuit ruling, make changes, or at least develop a proceeding that could lead to changes in the end market regulations. So nothing happens in a vacuum. Any transaction we propose would provide regulatory remedies under the current rules, but realizing those rules could change and some of those former regulations could become moot during the pendency of a transaction. So I think that all of that would have to be taken into account by the parties and the counterparties before going down that road, but we think it's entirely possible that two things can happen at the same time.

Jason Boisvert Bazinet, Analyst

That makes sense. And on the CW O&Os. Is that a strategic priority?

Perry A. Sook, CEO

Well, listen, it is a positive outcome to certain M&A activity if we can increase the footprint of our owned stations at the CW. Obviously, that provides a financial benefit to the CW, but also to the local station that may or may not be earning distribution revenue at the level that we earn for our CW stations. So it is not the number one strategic priority, but it is certainly something we look at when looking at transactions. And if that is a byproduct, it tends to benefit the company more than one way.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Steven Cahall with Wells Fargo.

Steven Lee Cahall, Analyst

So on the CW, you talked about, I think, 40% of time is now aired with sports. I was wondering what additional sports opportunities you see out there in terms of leagues or parts of leagues that you think can continue to grow that, assuming that, that is, in fact, the strategy of the CW to continue to add more sports as a percentage. And then the second question, I was just wondering if you could go a little bit deeper on the ad market. So it sounds like things are performing about as expected, maybe even a little bit better. I was wondering if you could talk about maybe how much digital is growing? And then any trends between what you're seeing at local stations versus your national revenue, which I think is a little bit bigger for you than it is for a lot of your peers.

Perry A. Sook, CEO

I will speak to the second part of that question, Steven, and then ask Michael to speak to the first part. But the bright spot in our ad support in the second quarter was at the national network level, and part of that is NewsNation being the number one basic cable network for year-over-year growth in the month of June and the CW moving into the eighth-ranked network in terms of total audience for the first half of 2025. So dollars are following the eyeballs, which are leading to increased revenues at our national networks business. So that certainly is a positive performing better than our internal expectations in the quarter and certainly year-to-date. And Michael, I'll turn it over to you to respond more to the sports question.

Michael Biard, CFO

Yes, it's a good segue. I mean part of what we're seeing in the performance of the CW is driven by the addition of sports. We now have a little bit of a track record under our belt. Certainly, the advertising community is responding to the consistent ratings that we've delivered. I talked about in my opening remarks the consistent performance year-on-year that we've seen, particularly at Xfinity. I think we're 20-plus races into the year. We've seen consistent week-after-week growth. Certainly, the industry was responding to it. If you look at motorsports as a whole, the industry is starting to talk about the Xfinity performance and particularly the smart decision that NASCAR made to vest its rights with CW for the long term. So I think in terms of looking forward, yes, there are other opportunities out there, and we absolutely are interested in pursuing them. I think if you look broadly at categories, college sports is one that we're interested in. We certainly had some success with the ACC and the Pac-12. We have ongoing discussions with some others in that space right but nothing I can announce today.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Benjamin Soff with Deutsche Bank.

Benjamin Soff, Analyst

I wanted to first ask about virtual MVPDs. It sounds like this is one area the FCC could look into. So can you remind us where the economics for these services stand today compared to the traditional ecosystem? And what's your level of optimism these rules could get changed? And then there's some new sports-centric streaming services launching soon. I'm curious if you think these products might impact the broader pay TV ecosystem or not?

Lee Ann Gliha, CFO

I'll begin by discussing the economics related to virtual MVPDs compared to traditional MVPDs. They are essentially similar, with no significant changes from what we have previously mentioned. With MVPDs, we can negotiate directly, allowing us to receive payments on a gross basis. Conversely, for virtual MVPDs, we go through networks and receive payments on a net basis. We aim to grow both revenue streams over time as we renegotiate contracts. Now, I will hand it over to Mike to cover some of the recent launches and upcoming initiatives.

Michael Biard, CFO

Yes, I think it's going to be launched later this month. I think the question is really around FOX One and the ESPN D2C app. I think the headline is we're optimistic they will be neutral and potentially a net positive for the pay TV business. And I'll start with the fact that both companies, both Disney and FOX remain highly invested in the success of pay TV and they've both been expressed about intentionally designing their respective D2C products and business models and make them complementary to pay TV rather than cannibalistic. That fact is pretty clear on the pricing of each which is respectful of their wholesale pricing with pay TV distributors. Specifically at $50 combined for FOX and ESPN, most folks would agree that pay TV is an attractive alternative given the relatively modest incremental cost for a significantly more robust set of programming, especially sports. By the way, a good chunk of that incremental programming is owned by Disney, who will have a broad slate of networks not available through ESPN, like Disney Network, FX, Nat Geo, for instance. FOX's product will be a little different in that regard, but they've been clear about their intentions repeatedly saying that their product is narrowly targeted at the cordless audience. Further, both have bundled these products with their pay TV deals, making them an added feature for pay TV subs. And that model goes back to the Disney Charter deal in the fall of '23. And at the time, you may recall, we were on record that we believe that would ultimately be a good thing for the health and viability of pay TV, including our business. And as I mentioned in my prepared remarks, Charter's pursuit of that model seems to be proving that out in the positive video sub trends that we've seen. Incidentally, I see Disney's deal with the NFL as a further investment in pay TV, given that they did not acquire ownership of or the digital rights to RedZone, which remain with the league. So I think all the value from RedZone for Disney will be derived in distributing it together with the balance of their linear portfolio inside pay TV. Finally, I want to add that we hope FOX is successful in targeting the cordless audience because the 24/7 feeds of our FOX stations, the largest group of FOX affiliates, will be included in FOX One, and subscribers with that product in all of our FOX markets will enjoy FOX just as pay TV subscribers do today. That is via our stations.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Craig Huber with Huber Research Partners.

Craig Anthony Huber, Analyst

Perry, I wanted to ask you if you could, what is your updated thoughts on the business environment, the economic environment here in the U.S.? How are you feeling about that right now, say, where your head was at coming into this calendar year? And then, Lee Ann, I do want to ask you, just some housekeeping questions. Maybe I missed this, what were the CW losses in the quarter? Were they materially different than I think you had about $41 million loss a year ago? And do you still think you're on track to have CW losses for the year down about 25%?

Lee Ann Gliha, CFO

I will address that question first. In Mike's comments, he mentioned that the CW losses for the quarter improved by about $21 million. We still anticipate reducing the total losses by approximately 25% over the year and achieving profitability sometime in 2026.

Perry A. Sook, CEO

I would say that in terms of the ad environment, our forecast for the year and our internal budgeting and metrics are performing as expected. There are variables to consider, as you can imagine. Looking ahead, we are satisfied with the forecast and do not see any decline in our projections compared to what we achieved in the first half of the year. The latter part of the year will have a greater impact from political revenue, resulting in increased competition, which will provide more inventory for general market advertising. This is something we typically encounter in the second half of every odd year. However, things are developing in line with our expectations so far. Everyone is anticipating a downturn, but honestly, we haven't observed one. We believe that advertising trends and the overall economy are stable. Tariff uncertainties might create some doubt, but they haven't resulted in a halt to spending or intentions to spend. I view this information as a net positive at this moment.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Alan Gould with Loop Capital Markets.

Alan Steven Gould, Analyst

I've got two, please. First, can you give us a comment on the pacings or what you're seeing the trends in digital advertising? And secondly, any surprise in the comment letters in the refresh proceeding? And what are the next steps? I think there's refined comments? And then what has to happen next before the FCC could make some changes?

Lee Ann Gliha, CFO

Maybe I'll just take the first on digital. Digital continues to be an area of focus for us and an area of strength in terms of growth. We're seeing that grow overall at kind of the mid-single digits and then at a higher rate at our local business. So that's digital.

Perry A. Sook, CEO

In the refresh proceeding, our remarks certainly speak for themselves. From what I have observed, most comments seem to reflect individual interests. I was somewhat surprised to see that the pay TV industry is resistant to the removal of the national ownership cap, which has been their consistent stance against any deregulation in our sector for some time now. Currently, the comment period has closed, with a reply comment deadline approaching on August 22. After that, the Chairman and his team will review the comments, and we will wait to see the outcomes. It appears that the Chairman is working on the refresh proceeding because he believes there are numerous outdated regulations, some unrelated to our industry, including some that pertain to telegraph regulations. His aim seems to be to remove unnecessary rules affecting both the telegraph and broadcast industries. We support this initiative and wish to contribute our feedback throughout the process. However, I cannot predict the timeline for any results; that decision rests with the Chairman and his team.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Patrick Sholl with Barrington Research.

Patrick William Sholl, Analyst

I just had a couple more questions just on the ad market. Just as you've been adding sports programming to CW, could you just talk about where your ad rates stand relative to some of your broadcast peers that you're getting much higher up in terms of the viewership level for CW?

Michael Biard, CFO

Yes, sure. I think we have a pretty good handle in the marketplace for like-to-like programming. So we know what Xfinity NASCAR rates were last year. We feel good about that. We've actually seen pretty sizable growth in rates year-on-year. So both volume and rates. Same with the college sports. So each category sort of has its own marketplace with pretty good handle on that, as I said, and we feel we're doing on par or better really in each case.

Patrick William Sholl, Analyst

Okay. In terms of the broader ad market, you've touched on this a bit, but could you elaborate on how spending has shifted between Q2 and Q3 within the categories? I know you've shared the overall pacing for Q3, but I would appreciate more details on the dynamics involved.

Lee Ann Gliha, CFO

I would say there isn't much difference in terms of the categories that are performing well and those that are not. We continue to see strong performance in attorneys, home repair, and manufacturing. On the downside, we are still experiencing challenges in the auto category. Overall, there are various trends that come and go, but none are particularly noteworthy.

Operator, Operator

Our final question this morning comes from the line of Khadir Richie with Richie Capital Group.

Khadir Richie, Analyst

Okay. I just had a quick one. Given the potential for the opportunities on the M&A on the horizon and the success you had in the past, does the attractiveness of these potential opportunities? Has it led to any internal adjustments of the previously announced timelines for leadership transition?

Perry A. Sook, CEO

I'm not sure. Are you speaking about me?

Khadir Richie, Analyst

Yes. Just wondering if the appeal of any potential consolidation has caused you to reconsider your planned retirement.

Perry A. Sook, CEO

I had no plans to retire. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. And typically, in terms of any announcement regarding an employment agreement, that comes toward the end of the current employment agreement. Quite honestly, there are a lot of things going on here right now, and that's not at the top of the list yet. But I don't think you have to worry too much about my engagement here, being the third-largest shareholder; I am very engaged every day, all day, and have a vested interest in the outcome of everything we do.

Operator, Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our question-and-answer session. I'll turn the floor back to Mr. Sook for any final comments.

Perry A. Sook, CEO

Thank you very much, operator, and thank you all for joining us here today. We appreciate your time, and we look forward to reporting on our third quarter results in early November. And with that, we will bid you a good day, and we will ask you all to disconnect. Thank you very much. Bye now.

Operator, Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines at this time.