Spanish Broadcasting System founder, President and Chairman/CEO Raúl Alarcón Jr. exuded confidence in SBS’s “operational reset” triggered by the departures of its President/COO and CFO in the last six months in a Tuesday earnings call.
The Spanish-language broadcaster ended Q1 2024 with a $1.6 million net loss, up 38% year-over-year. Operational expenses decreased by 10% from the same period in 2023, contributing to an increase in Station Operating Income from $6.8 million to $7.4 million.
Alarcón’s discussion during the 30-minute conference call saw the Hispanic radio pioneer play up SBS’s “continued ability to connect brand partners with the massive audience that represents the ‘New American Mainstream.'” This, he said, is the main tenet of the company’s operational plan. Yet, Alarcón recognized that 2023 wasn’t easy, hence the initiatives that SBS is undertaking to bring further growth to the company.
While Q1 2024 saw signs of progress, “We still have much more work to do,” Alarcón said. This includes aligning SBS’s content across a broad range of platforms, so that “lifestyle companions” can engage with SBS stations no matter where and when they wish to do so.
Alarcón then addressed emailed questions from stakeholders. With ticket giveaways and sponsorships singled out as plusses, Alarcón said, “We can scale up or down the size of our events, and we don’t want to lose that engagement.”
Alarcón was also asked about Q1 performance with respect to local versus national advertising. To little surprise, he said higher local and network sales were seen, and that was somewhat offset by weakness in national. Furthermore, he said Q2 pacings “look good,” with local sales up mid-single digits.
With reporting from RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R. Jacobson. For more in-depth financial reporting, visit RBR.com.
