Nexstar Broadcasting Group said Wednesday that it fell deeper into the red for the third quarter, posting a widened loss of $8.9 million, compared with red ink of $5.7 million a year ago as the company was hurt by declines in core advertising categories and a sharp slowdown in political advertising revenue.

Revenue for the period fell 2 percent to $53.8 million as key categories such as automotive and fast food were off from a year ago. The company also was impacted by the lack of Olympics advertising revenue in the 2005 third quarter, and the absence of around $6.1 million in political advertising.