Gannett’s TV Revenue Plummets in 4Q

Lack of Political Ads Sinks TV; Online Revenues Rise

By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/1/2008 11:23:00 AM

Gannett’s fourth-quarter-2007 earnings per diluted share from continuing operations were $1.06, compared with $1.47 in the same quarter of 2006. Total operating revenues for the company were $1.9 billion in the quarter, down from $2.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006, an 11.9% decline (the 2006 fourth quarter had one more week).

Broadcasting revenues totaled $212 million for the quarter, a 21.7% decline due to the lack of political ads. Online revenues were 18% higher than the comparable quarter in 2006.

Chairman, president and CEO Craig Dubow acknowledged the challenges in the quarter.

“In the fourth quarter, we faced a challenging advertising environment, tough comparisons, which included an extra week in 2006, and the relative absence of election-related advertising in broadcasting,” he said. “Our effort to align expense with revenue opportunities will better position us for the future, although it resulted in significant severance expenses and consolidation costs in the quarter.”

For the year, Gannett’s total operating revenues were $7.4 billion compared with $7.8 billion in 2006, a 5.2% decline.