Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call March 7, 2024 11:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Christopher Forgy - President and Chief Executive Officer

Samuel Bush - Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Operator

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Fourth Quarter and Year-End Earnings Release Conference Call. At this time, all participants have been placed on a listen-only mode.

It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to your host, Chris Forgy. Sir, the floor is yours.

Christopher Forgy

Thank you, Matt. Have you ever considered a career in broadcasting industry? [Indiscernible] you started with this morning, so thanks very much for that, and thank you to everyone who have taken the time to join Saga's Q4 and year-end earnings call. We do appreciate your continued interest and participation in Saga Communications, a company that we believe is the best broadcast company on the planet.

As usual, we have a lot to talk about today, a new variable dividend program, $40 million worth of dry powder on hand, and something else new and different in the broadcast sector these days, an accretive acquisition.

Firstly, we are pleased to announce the addition of Lafayette, Indiana Cluster to the Saga family. By way of Neuhoff Media and Lafayette is expected to close in mid-May of quarter two of this year. Lafayette is home to Purdue University, Sam Bush, and now the Saga Communications. Lafayette folds beautifully into Saga's roster of markets and is consistent with our target market acquisition strategy. And as a market, frankly, that we have covered for a number of years, we are acquiring an entity with great brands and a talented group of passionate broadcasters who are frankly delighted to get started. And once Sagafied, Lafayette has the potential for growth in several verticals, including local, digital and e-commerce.

We previously forecasted a 16 market launch of our new online news service. This was to be completed by the end of 2024. As of today, I'm pleased to announce that we have already generated over $1 million in pre-booked revenue for 2024, and the year-end time line has been accelerated to have not 16, but 18 markets online by the end of – not the end of the year, but by the end of quarter two.

Also, in previous earnings calls, we have reported the intensity with which we utilize audio spec spot creative to present ideas to customers to use as on our messaging. In 2021, we produced 21,000 spec spots in the company. In 2022, that number rose to 25,000. And again, I'm pleased to announce that in 2023, we have produced 25,500 spec spots for our customers in our marketplaces. The activity level on our Saga markets is at an all-time high, yet we really never – our appetite is really never – for success is really never satisfied.