"Tegna (NYSE:TGNA) is part of a sector that is quickly approaching the end of the lifecycle. It's a waste of effort for investors to talk or write about traditional broadcasters. Why assess a broadcaster, let alone buy shares? Better put your money in Netflix (NFLX) and Alphabet (GOOG). Or pick Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSSE), if you're in an adventurous mood." This is what investors may think in this era of streaming and OTT-services. One proof of this is the low number of articles about broadcasters in comparison with the coverage of companies like Netflix and Alphabet.
Yet, over the last couple of months, while writing a series of articles about broadcasters, I came to a completely different conclusion in comparison with that dark perspective on the sector. Sure, there is the key challenge of this digital age where advertisers have many alternatives to linear TV, but there's also broadcasting companies that are still growing nicely despite the downward pressure on advertising revenue. Nexstar (NXST) and Gray Television (GTN) (GTN.A) are two examples of that in the US. They've acquired growth and also benefitted from organic growth in retransmission business and political advertising. On top of that, the shares are now trading well below the all-time highs because of the pandemic dip in March. Similar findings are valid for some of the European peers. My reviews of European and US broadcasters concluded that there are definitely investments in broadcasting worth considering.
Following my recent articles about Nexstar and Gray Television, a next logical broadcaster to cover was Tegna. So, this article will see if that is also one of those broadcasters that are doing well and even merit a long position.
My investment thesis for assessing if it makes sense to invest in a broadcaster like Tegna is
