Corus Entertainment sees potential ad revenue bump from ‘buy Canadian’ trend

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This article was published 11/04/2025 (241 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – A challenging environment for attracting key advertising dollars continues to plague Corus Entertainment Inc., but the company says it could reap the benefits of the “Buy Canadian” movement that has gained momentum in response to U.S. tariffs.

Speaking to analysts on Corus’ second-quarter earnings call Friday, co-CEO Troy Reeb described a “remarkable change in Canadians’ consumer behaviour.”

“The ‘Buy Canadian’ movement … is helping to mitigate some of the industry-wide advertising trends as companies adjust their business strategies and marketing campaigns to build on the increased interest in Canadian products,” Reeb said.

He added Corus has seen a positive response to its programming this year as advertisers look to take advantage of its various platforms to reach Canadian audiences.

“In addition to existing opportunities within the Corus ecosystem, we are also working with our clients to create custom content and help them connect with their Canadian customers,” he said.

Still, the television and radio broadcaster reported a loss in its second quarter as its revenue fell 10 per cent compared with a year ago. 

Revenue totalled $270.4 million for the quarter, down from $299.5 million. The drop came as Corus reported $251.8 million in television revenue, down from $278.1 million a year earlier, with TV ad revenue down around 13 per cent to $129.5 million.

Meanwhile, radio revenue amounted to $18.5 million, down from $21.5 million a year ago. 

The net loss attributable to shareholders totalled $55.9 million or 28 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Feb. 28, compared with a loss of $9.8 million or five cents per share in the same period a year earlier.

As Corus looks to take advantage of the described boost in demand for Canadian ad spending, TD Cowen analyst Vince Valentini questioned whether that trend would be sustainable, especially given that Corus lacks the digital scale of U.S. streaming giants.

“Are people really buying into that, saying, ‘We’re going to take ads away from these digital platforms where we’ve been putting all our money for the past 10 years and repatriate it to a Canadian player?'” he asked.

“Are you getting some feedback from brands that they’re actually willing to do that?”

Reeb conceded that although Canadian advertisers seem more intent these days on supporting traditional broadcast and print newspaper platforms, there is “always a gap between intent and action.”

“I think it’s too early to say if this is a meaningful shift,” he said.

“We have certainly assisted some Canadian advertisers already with campaigns that we have packaged … specifically because of the ongoing situation, but how meaningful a shift that will be in the overall advertising line? I think it’s too early to tell.”

On the trade war front, Reeb said Corus doesn’t yet have clarity on whether U.S. tariffs will apply to Canadian programming sold to American distributors.

But he added Corus does not expect its content supply to be disrupted even if a levy is applied. He said most of Corus’ programming that is sold to U.S. distributors is already locked up under a previous deal, which wouldn’t be affected by potential tariffs.

On an adjusted basis, Corus said it lost 21 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted loss of three cents per share a year ago. Analysts on average had expected a loss of 12 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

RBC analyst Drew McReynolds said the results would have a neutral effect on shares, despite coming in slightly below his forecast.

“Given ongoing volatility and uncertainty within the media sector, we view (second quarter) results and the (third quarter) outlook for television advertising as generally in line with our expectations,” he said in a note.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2025.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CJR.B)