Speed is the name of the game at Saga Communications, says CEO Chris Forgy. While he reported a 5% year-over-year revenue decline in the second quarter of 2025, he emphasized that the company refuses to stand still.
“We’re now playing in the modern, ever-evolving digital age. It’s now much more sophisticated and requires skills and abilities to play and to play fast,” he told investors during the Q2 earnings call.
“Are we delighted with where we are today? No, not at all. We should be doing better.” But Forgy reiterated that Saga’s focus is on long-term transformation, not short-term patchwork. “We have to sell our way out of this macro down drift and refuse the urge to cut our way out, where you’re left with a shell of an organization.”
Net revenue for the quarter ended June 30 dropped to $28.2 million, down from $29.7 million in Q2 2024. Net income also declined, from $2.5 million to $1.1 million. Operating income for the quarter fell to $1.4 million, while station operating income was $6 million compared to $6.4 million a year earlier.
That commitment to digital transformation is taking root. According to Forgy, “Our digital percentage of total net revenue has increased quarter over quarter from 13.6% to 15.6%.” Interactive revenue was up 7% for the quarter and 10% for the first half of the year, with a profit margin of 58% for the quarter, excluding sales commissions.
To sharpen those margins, Saga is cutting what it calls non-essential expenses. “We’re bringing several of our third-party digital expenses in-house to save money, increase margins, and really to be more efficient,” said Forgy. Switching from outsourced voice production to AI voice-to-voice services, for example, is saving $250,000 annually.
Saga is also exploring a sale of tower assets, which could bring in high-seven to low-eight-figure proceeds. “We have committed at a board level and to our shareholders that we are looking at what we will do with the proceeds from this and that some of the proceeds will go into stock buybacks,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Sam Bush.
Bush noted that operating expenses are on track to decline by 2–3% for the year, aided by in-house digital ad placement and reduced bad debt. “It was good to see the 4.6% decrease in station operating expenses for the second quarter and the 3.4% decrease for the six-month period,” he said.
Looking ahead, the third quarter is pacing slightly down overall, off 1%, but September is pacing up 1.5%. Interactive pacing is up 40% as of early August. National advertising, however, remains sluggish and is pacing down more than 19%, though Bush noted that national buys are arriving later than usual this year.
Forgy closed the call with a message of persistence: “This all takes time, money, commitment, and a resolve like no other,” he said. “We’re going to continue to produce great content that works and continue to provide service to community and create an on-air atmosphere conducive to the success of our media partners.”
