Sinclair Broadcast Group reported first quarter net
broadcast revenues of $147.9 million in the first quarter, an increase of 12.7%
over the same quarter a year ago. Political revenues were $1.5 million in the
first quarter 2010 versus $0.3 million in first quarter 2009. Local network
broadcast revenues, which include local time sales, retransmission revenues,
and other local broadcast revenues, were up 14.1% in the first quarter.
National net broadcast revenues were up 8.2%.
"Television advertising continues to improve with many categories
growing year-over-year," said Sinclair President/CEO David Smith.
"The automotive category showed the largest growth, increasing 35.6% in
the first quarter as compared to the same period last year. This was a stronger
performance than the approximate 20% growth we estimated. Of our top ten
categories, which represented approximately 77% of our time sales, only
telecommunications and paid programming were down. For the second quarter, we
continue to see strong growth as both the majority of our advertising
categories pace positive and the number of new advertisers increases."
Sinclair announced it had extended outsourcing agreements with Nexstar,
involving WYZZ Peoria and WUHF Rochester, through 2013.
It also renewed affiliation agreements for its nine ABC stations through
August 2015.
Smith said the future looks bright for broadcasting, with around a 20% gain
in revenue forecasted for the second quarter, compared to the same quarter a
year ago.
"We recognize that credit is once again flowing and yields are
improving for issuers in our industry, a reflection, in part, on the market's
optimism for broadcast television," he added. "As such, we believe there could
be some opportunities for us to further strengthen our balance sheet. In
addition to the improvement in the short-term fundamentals, we are encouraged
that broadcasters and the networks are working together towards a marketable
mobile DTV solution. We believe the financial impact could be significant for
our industry longer term."
Sinclair owns or operates 58 TV stations in 35 markets.
