Before splitting, media companies' profits were robust Operating proftmargins in the yyear prior to media company 's spinoff but after splitting, publishing arms fared markedly worse than broadcast Operating profitmargins in the year following spinoff
In 2014, before spinning off its publishing properties, Gannett had an operating profit margin of 39%. Following the 2015 spinoff, Gannett’s broadcasting arm, Tegna, had a similar operating profit margin of 37% – nearly three times that of its publishing sibling (13%), which retained the “Gannett Company” name. (Operating profit, often referred to as “operating income before depreciation and amortization,” represents the portion of every dollar in sales that accrues as profits, before paying taxes and investors, and excluding figures that fall outside the company’s typical operations.)
Before splitting, media companies'  | profits were robust  | Operating proftmargins in the yyear prior to media  | company 's spinoff  | 35%  | Tribune  | Gannett  | 39  | Scripps  | but after splitting, publishing arms  | fared markedly worse than broadcast  | Operating profitmargins in the year following spinoff  | from  | Broa dcast successor  | Pub lishing successor  | 31%  | Tribune  | 7%  | 37  | Gannett  | 13  | Scripps  | Note: Operating profitmargin calculated as operating eamings  | before Operating interest, tax, depreci.ttionand amortzationdivided operating by  | operating revenue Tribune Company compl eted its spinoffin Augus  | 2014 operating into Tribune Media (broadcasting) Company and Tribune Publishing Augus  | (publishing; Gannett Co. Inc. completed its spinoffon Publishing June 29.  | 2015 into Tegna Inc (broadcasting) and Gannett Co. (publishing;;  | EW Scripps Tegna Co completed its spinoffon April 1, 2015 into EW  | Scripps (broadcasting) and Journa Media Group (publishing.  | Source: Thomson ONE  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 