Urban One Inc. reported net revenue of $88 million for the quarter ending on September 30, a 5% drop from one year ago.
The company reported a $126.6 million operating loss for the quarter compared to a gain of $2.5 million in Q3 2025. The company notes that most of the loss was from impairment charges of $128.9 million during the quarter with a $62.5 million charge in their radio license values, $25.4 million from the radio broadcasting reporting unit, and $40.9 million for its cable television unit.
The company noted $88 million in net revenue for the quarter down from $92.7 million in 2025 with the radio division up to $36.7 million from $34.7 million a year ago. The increase came from the acquisition of KKDA-FM/KRNB Dallas along with political revenue, partially offset by weaker overall market demand from the national and local advertisers. Reach Media revenue was down by $1 million to $5.1 million due to lower demand and overall network audio market decline. Digital revenue dropped from $12.7 million to $9.6 million which the company said was driven by reduced demand for diversity, equity and inclusion-focused spend and lower effective rates on campaigns. Cable television revenue dropped from $39.8 million to $37.3 million primarily driven by the churn of subscribers and lower advertising rates.
President/CEO Alfred Liggins III said, “Market conditions in radio continued to adversely impact revenue in the third quarter. We were helped by net political revenue of over $0.8 million in the quarter and the acquisition of stations in our Dallas market, effective July 17th, which contributed an additional $1.9 million of net revenue in the quarter. Net political revenue for the full year is expected to be $8.8 million across all divisions. Weak demand in the Cable TV scatter market, shifted more inventory to the direct response category at lower rates in the third quarter. We saw an increase in local digital revenue in our radio markets, but large client attrition and suppressed rates in national direct digital revenue meant significant revenue declines in the overall digital segment. Revised Adjusted EBITDA(2) guide for 2026 is now $40.0 million given the realities of the current advertising marketplace. Management is hyper-focused on cost reductions heading into next year and has identified at least $20.0 million of annualized savings.”
