Nexstar Revenue Nearly Doubles on Political Ads as The CW Nears Its First Profit
Nexstar Media Group's third-quarter revenue nearly doubled to $2.1 billion, the company said on November 5, 2026, driven by a surge in political advertising ahead of the midterm elections.
Political ads are paid campaign spots that run on television, and they arrive in waves every two years. Nexstar, which owns local TV stations across the United States, booked $317 million in political revenue in the quarter alone. For the full year, the company reported $1.1 billion in political ad revenue, a new company record and 31% ahead of the 2022 midterm cycle. Sinclair, another station group, reported a full-year political haul of $455 million, which it said was ahead of its total from the 2024 presidential election year.
Nexstar posted third-quarter net income of $250 million and adjusted EBITDA of $756 million. EBITDA is a measure of a company's operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, and "adjusted" means the company has stripped out certain one-off items. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $7.92, beating the consensus estimate of $7.65, according to Investing.com.
The company's 2026 results also include Tegna, a station group Nexstar acquired this year. A federal judge has blocked Nexstar from integrating Tegna, so the two businesses cannot yet be combined. The fight over the deal is heading to court again. Oral arguments in the appeal are set for November 17 before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and a decision is expected in early 2027. DirecTV, the satellite and streaming provider, joined state attorneys general in suing over the merger shortly before the Federal Communications Commission approved it and Nexstar closed the deal, according to Deadline. Nexstar did reach a distribution deal with DirecTV during the quarter, which sets the terms for carrying its channels on the service.
Nexstar also owns a majority stake in The CW, the broadcast network known for its young-skewing dramas and reality shows. Nexstar acquired that majority in 2022. Skydance retains about 20% of the network, per Deadline. The CW's ratings rose 9% during the quarter, the company said.
The biggest single moment for the network was a football game. On August 30, The CW drew just under 2 million viewers for Florida State against New Mexico State, its largest audience ever for a live sporting event. Sport now makes up a large share of the schedule. Chief financial officer Lee Ann Gliha estimated that sports accounts for about 50% of The CW's programming.
Nexstar executives reaffirmed their expectation that The CW will post its first profit in the fourth quarter, which runs from October through December. That would be a first for the network under Nexstar's ownership, and it would arrive as the company's political spending winds down after Election Day.
For viewers, the practical picture is simple. Campaign ads fill the breaks in local news and programming during election season, and The CW's schedule leans heavily on live sport. For the company, the next big questions sit in a courtroom in California, where the Tegna case will decide whether the stations can finally be run as one business.
