Revenue at Outdoor Channel rose 8% in the fourth quarter to
$25.4 million, but increased advertising expenses to promote new shows helped
drive cash flow down 19% in the period to $6.1 million.
Total operating expenses were up 26% in the quarter, driven
primarily by a $2.3 million rise in advertising costs to promote its new
programming slate launched in December and the network itself to new
subscribers. Advertising expense for the quarter was about $3.3 million, triple
the nearly $1 million Outdoor spent on advertising in the same period of 2011.
For the full year, revenue at the channel was up 8% to $77.3
million and cash flow was $12.6 million, a 1% decline from the previous year.
"We delivered steady revenue growth at our core TOC
unit during the fourth quarter and for the full year as we continued to
capitalize on our category leadership position," said Outdoor CEO Tom
Hornish in a statement. "We also made significant gains in our total
household distribution, adding another one million homes in the final quarter
of 2012. Our Aerial Cameras unit also enjoyed a record quarter with expanded
events and contributions from our government project. Obviously, we are in the
midst of some exciting ownership changes for the company and despite the
inevitable distractions that can occur in such an environment, we're proud of
our team for their continued execution of our plans to more aggressively market
and program the network, our core business."
Last week Outdoor
Channel agreed to be acquired by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment in a
deal valued at about $227 million. The transaction is expected to be completed
in the second quarter.
