The New York Times Co., the newspaper company that owns eight network-affiliated television stations, on Thursday said its television stations reported flat revenue growth for the first quarter, as a drop in political advertising was offset by gains in other advertising categories.

The broadcast group reported revenue of $31.3 million — about the same as the year-ago figure — while operating profit tumbled 17 percent to $4.1 million, as the group was hurt by higher wages and benefit costs, including stock-based compensation.

The company said that while political advertising was way off from a year ago, its stations benefited from advertising growth in the automotive, packaged goods, furniture and insurance categories.

Overall, the company reported a first-quarter profit of $111 million versus a year-earlier profit of $58.4 million, largely driven by the company’s sale of its current headquarters in New York for $62.8 million and of property in Florida for $5 million.

Revenue was largely flat at $805.6 million, compared with a year-earlier figure of $801.9 million.