Yesterday we reported on Wachovia analyst Marci Ryvicker's lowered forecast for ad spending in general. Television is no exception. Ryvicker sees continuing softness in auto negating the stronger than expected upfront and early political spending. She looks for 2007 to finish down 2%, rather than her previous estimate of down 1.5%, and she has lowered estimates for most of the TV companies she covers for Q2.
In calculating her overall figure for the year, Ryvicker said expects local spot to be down 3%, national spot 6%, and syndication 2%. On the up side, she expects network TV revenues to gain 3% and for Internet revenues at TV companies to jump 55%. For radio, she now expects Q2 revenues to be flat with a year ago, down from her previous forecast of up 1%, citing weakness in May and June. However, she is sticking with her radio call for all of 2007 – flat.
