The political category fueled revenue and cash flow growth at Fisher Communications Inc. for Q3 2012, with a double digit gain in net television revenue and a better than 50% gain in TV cash flow. But income from continuing operations on the radio side was down 11%.
The big numbers on the television side included a respectable gain of 5% in net revenue excluding political to $31M, a 285% increase in political revenue to $3.6M; an 83% gain in retransmission consent income to $6.3M; and a 55% increase in TV cash flow to $10.5M.
“Fisher’s positive momentum continued throughout the third quarter, led by the strength of our stations, strong political spending and new retransmission agreements,” said Colleen B. Brown, Fisher’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our stations delivered audience share and revenue growth, as we continue to leverage the Company’s key set of multiplatform offerings to our competitive advantage.”
Brown continued, “As we look ahead to 2013, we remain focused on expanding our trusted local news brands, as well as providing advertisers the highly effective broadcast and on-line mediums to better reach their customers. These are hallmarks of Fisher and the pillars that will enable us to deliver value to our audiences, business partners and shareholders.”
Radio income fell from $1.476M to $1.387M, on a revenue decrease from $5.344M to $5.225M. Cash flow came in at 26.3% of income, down from 27.6%.
