TV advertising numbers pull Seven West revenue down, but viewers on the increase

Weak advertising revenue as a result of one-off sporting events such as the Olympics has pushed the overall revenue of Seven West Media Ltd (ASX:SWM) lower in the first half of the 2025 fiscal year.

SWM’s group revenue for the period came in at $727 million, down 6% on H1 FY24, recording the same percentage loss in total TV advertising revenue, with a soft market and major sporting events to blame for the latter.

Mentioned in particular were major one-off sporting events such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup – broadcast on Seven during the first half of FY24 – and the Olympic Games on Nine this half.

However, there was some good news, with Seven’s total TV audiences increasing by 1.5% with strong growth in broadcast video on demand – up 43%, offsetting a modest decline in linear broadcasting, which was down 1.8%.

Managing director and CEO Jeff Howard explained that TV advertising was a standout factor to watch in the results.

“Seven West Media’s H1 FY25 results reflect the ongoing soft total TV advertising market and the impact of major one-off sporting events,” he said.

“Mitigating the full impact of these revenue headwinds was an increase in our total TV revenue share to 41.5% (up 0.5 points) and the benefits of our year-on-year operating cost savings initiates.

“Seven’s total TV audiences are up 1.5% year on year, excluding one-off sporting events.

“Our content strategy successfully mitigated the Olympic Games’ impact in the
first quarter and the launch of 7plus Sport commencing with the AFL Grand Final drove
a step change in audiences as the first half progressed.”

SWM has been trading at 16.5 cents.

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