The television stations in the Gannett portfolio did not increase net revenue during Q1 2011 compared to the same quarter the year prior. However, if you take into account all of the revenue sources they had then that did not exist for them in 2011, they had a very successful quarter.
Revenues for the broadcast group, including network Captivate, actually lost ground, which is of course typical for any television property during an odd year due to the generally-drastic decline in political revenue. The situation at Gannett was heightened dramatically since its portfolio is weighted heavily toward NBC and it is also an off-year for the Olympics. Add to that the fact that the Super Bowl moved from CBS, the group’s second-highest affiliate group, and went to Fox – its only 0-for among the Big Four.
The upshot is that revenues declined 2.2% from $167.5M to $163.9M, a loss of $3.6M. However, take the three missing events out of the picture, which accounted for $24.1M in revenue during the quarter, and the group actually enjoyed a 7.3% gain.
A big item on the plus side is an increase in retransmission income, up 25.7% to $19.5M during the quarter.
The company sees the trend continuing ahead into second quarter. It is expecting revenues to be on par with Q2 2010 results, and to be vastly improved if you discount the $11.7M in Q2 political revenue it picked up last year.
In addition to the boost from retransmission consent, the company is getting good results in the key automotive and telecom categories.
Here is a look at the Gannett television portfolio.
Atlanta GA
* WXIA NBC
* WATL MNT
Bangor ME
* WLBZ NBC
Buffalo NY
* WGRZ NBC
Cleveland OH
* WKYC NBC
Columbia SC
* WLTX CBS
Denver CO
* KUSA NBC
* KTVD MNT
Grand Rapids MI
* WZZM ABC
Greensboro/Winston Salem NC
* WFMY CBS
Jacksonville FL
* WTLV NBC
* WJXX ABC
Knoxville TN
* WBIR NBC
Little Rock AR
* KTHV CBS
Macon GA
* WMAZ CBS
Minneapolis-St. Paul MN
* KARE NBC
Phoenix AZ
* KPNX NBC
Portland ME
* WCSH NBC
Sacramento CA
* KXTV ABC
St. Louis MO
* KSDK NBC
Tampa-St. Petersburg
* WTSP CBS
Washington DC
* WUSA CBS
