Gray Television swung to a fourth-quarter loss amid a sharp drop in political advertising revenue, the company said Thursday.

The Atlanta-based operator of 36 television stations reported a net loss of nearly $7.1 million, compared with profit of nearly $14 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 16 percent to $73 million.

For the year, Gray posted a loss of $2.3 million, compared with a profit of $41 million a year ago. Revenue dropped 11 percent to $261.6 million.

The company said a major driver behind the declines was the drop in political advertising revenue. In the 2005 fourth quarter the company reported political revenue of $1.4 million, compared with $20.8 million a year earlier. The company also reported a decline in network compensation to $1.1 million, from a year-earlier $2.6 million.

Despite those declines, Gray saw increases in both local and national advertising revenue. The company reported a 15 percent rise in local advertising to $48.6 million, while national advertising rose 9 percent to $19.6 million.