Salem communications reported that Q2 revenues were up 3.4% to 60 million bucks, beating the Thomson/First Call analysts' consensus by about a million. Same station broadcasting revenues were up 1.5% and non-broadcasting media (Internet/magazines) revenues rose 36.4% to 6.4 million.
For radio, station operating income was up 0.7%, or 0.8% on a same station basis. In his conference call, CEO Ed Atsinger noted that Salem is not seeing the same soft trend national advertising as general market stations, since Salem's network and national spot advertising is generated by its own sales forces from many advertisers seeking its targeted Christian and family-friendly formats. For Q3, Salem is forecasting a quarter much like Q2, with broadcasting revenues flat to up 1%.
