Gannett reported television revenues of $177.7 million in the second quarter, up slightly from the $177.5 million it reported at the station level in last year's second quarter. Excluding political spending, Gannett reported TV revenue showing a 5.4% gain in the quarter. A retransmission consent increase of 23.7% ($19.4 million) and digital revenue gain of 29% helped Gannett make up for the lost political monies.
Total broadcast revenue, including Gannett's elevator network Captivate, was $184.4 million in the quarter-also slightly up from the second quarter last year.
Publishing revenues at Gannett were $977.1 million for the quarter, down 4.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
Gannett's net income was $151.5 million in the second quarter.
"Our results for the quarter reflect the positive impact of our ongoing efforts to focus on our customers and to meet their business and marketing needs across our platforms," said Craig Dubow, Gannett's chairman and CEO. "This resulted in higher digital revenues for the quarter in each of our business segments. Company-wide digital revenues were up 13 percent compared to last year. Broadcasting segment revenue was up slightly overcoming the significant political advertising spends of last year. Each of our business segments was solidly profitable, due in part to our commitment to align our expenses with revenue opportunities. We accomplished this despite the continued challenging economic environments in many markets and the impact of the crisis in Japan on the supply chain and inventories for autos and consumer electronics."
Gannett forecasted television revenue being up in the mid-single digits next quarter, compared to the third quarter of last year.
