Urban One’s Q1 2025 earnings report showed sharp declines across most revenue categories, with radio taking a significant hit – down 10.3% year-over-year – amid persistent macroeconomic uncertainty and advertiser pullbacks.
Total revenue fell to $92.2 million, down 11.7% from $104.4 million in Q1 2024. Operating income dropped sharply to $2.1 million, down from $12.9 million in the same quarter last year, reflecting weaker top-line performance across radio, digital, and television, as well as a significant impairment charge.
Net income swung from a profit of $7.7 million in Q1 2024 to a net loss of $11.7 million this quarter.
As mentioned, while still the company’s second-largest revenue generator, radio revenue fell to $32.6 million. In the company’s earnings call, CFO Peter Thompson acknowledged a double-digit pullback in national advertising, with local ad sales down a more moderate 1.5%.
CEO Alfred Liggins added context on the advertising environment: “I do not think you’re gonna see a positive ad rebound this year. Once you take expense off the table in a corporate environment, it generally stays off the table for the remainder of that budget cycle.”
Services, including legal advertisers, offered a bright spot, with 11% growth. The travel and transportation category rose 17%, but Thompson noted, “That’s our smallest category.” Most other verticals, including healthcare, entertainment, retail, government, auto, and food and beverage, posted declines.
On the cost side, radio operating expenses were trimmed by approximately $900,000 or 2.9%, largely due to reduced compensation. Still, the company recorded a $6.4 million non-cash impairment against FCC licenses in Dallas, Indianapolis, Raleigh, Philadelphia, and Cleveland.
Asked whether Urban One was preparing further cost reductions, Liggins responded, “We are focused on taking another look at that for this year… really focused on kind of like an end of June execution date on that.” He added, “We do believe that there are other opportunities and plan to take advantage of them.”
Where Urban One’s earnings differ from many other broadcast groups is less of a focus on digital. Liggins reported the segment was also down 16.2% year-over-year, with streaming revenue impacted by renegotiated third-party deals. “We have not played in the local digital area… We’re probably doing high single-digit [percentages] of revenue when our competitors are doing 20%,” Liggins admitted. “We don’t cross-pollinate our national products into the hands of our local sellers intentionally at this point in time.”
While the company’s core business is under pressure, its capital strategy remains disciplined. Urban One repurchased $88.6 million of debt during the quarter and continued buying back more in April, reducing its outstanding balance to $495.9 million.
Looking forward, Q2 is expected to be weak. “Almost all of that profit is forecast to be in the back half of the year,” Thompson said.
