Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker points to a few reasons that Q1 2012 may not have been all it could have been for broadcasters, and sees positive signs looking forward. However, the news may be better for TV than radio, and may be better for some broadcast companies than others.
Ryvicker said that a weak 2012 start on the national side stalled both radio and television companies, with telecom, cinema and political primarily jamming on the brakes. But according to Ryvicker, political, and the Olympics, will have an impact in Q2 even though both will not heat up until later – she suggests that many advertisers are using April, May and June for their campaigns in advance of the two main events on the remaining 2012 event calendar. She believes television stocks will particularly benefit from this phenomenon.
Radio prospects are described as mixed by Ryvicker – she said some groups are looking at nice gains during the next quarter while others are looking at red ink – but TV has been improving incrementally, a trend that she expects to continue. She’s expecting a “flattish” quarter for radio and low single-digit improvement for TV.
