LIN TV Corp. Announces First Quarter 2008 Results

Business Wire,  May 8, 2008  

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Income from Continuing Operations Increased by $2.5 million

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- LIN TV Corp. (NYSE: TVL) today reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008.

Income from continuing operations for the three months ended March 31, 2008 increased by $2.5 million, to $0.9 million, compared to a loss from continuing operations of $1.6 million in the first quarter of 2007. The growth in income from continuing operations was primarily driven by higher digital and political revenues and lower interest expense due to declining debt balances.

Commenting on the first quarter, LIN TV's President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent L. Sadusky said: "We are very pleased to report that our net revenues grew 1%, despite the industry-wide weakness in local advertising and this included a 100% increase in our digital revenues versus the prior year. We attribute this growth to the successful execution of our digital strategy and new business development efforts, as well as political revenues generated by our leading news stations. In addition, we strengthened our balance sheet by paying-off $22 million of debt during the quarter. Looking ahead, we continue to focus on the fundamentals of our business, including expense management and further maximizing our digital opportunities during a difficult economic environment."

First Quarter 2008 Compared to First Quarter 2007

Net revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2008 increased 1% to $93.1 million, compared to $91.8 million for the same period in 2007. The increase was primarily due to higher political advertising in this election year of $3.2 million, compared to $0.6 million for the prior year period, and to higher digital revenues. Digital revenues, which include Internet advertising revenues and retransmission consent fees, increased $2.4 million or 100% to $4.9 million, compared to $2.5 million in the same period last year. These increases were partially offset by lower core advertising revenues, which include local and national advertising, but exclude political advertising. LIN TV's core advertising revenues declined 3% for the first quarter of 2008 due to the TV advertising marketplace decline in LIN TV's markets.

General operating expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2008 increased 3% to $69.8 million, compared to $67.7 million for the same period in 2007. The increase was primarily due to employee and other operating cost increases.

Operating income for the three months ended March 31, 2008 was $15.6 million, which was flat compared to operating income for the same period in 2007. Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2008 was $1.5 million, compared to net income of $20.7 million for the same period last year. Diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2008 were $0.03 compared to $0.42 for the same period in 2007. The decrease in net income and earnings per share from the prior year was primarily due to a $23.1 million or $0.47 per share gain from the sale of the Company's Puerto Rico operations that occurred in the first quarter of 2007.

Operating Highlights

TV Station Ratings and Revenue

* According to Nielsen's February ratings reports, LIN TV's stations ranked #1 or #2 for weekdays sign-on to sign-off in 82% of its markets. Most of the Company's CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX stations were once again ranked number one for adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. The Nielsen data also showed that the Company's stations outperform the national networks in the category of household share by an average of 32%.

* Local advertising revenues, which exclude political advertising, decreased 3% for the first quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. The decrease is due to the TV advertising marketplace decline in LIN TV's markets resulting from general economic pressure now impacting a number of local economies, primarily in the housing, automobile and retail segments. Local advertising revenues represented 65% of total advertising revenues for the first quarter of 2008.

* National advertising revenues, which exclude political advertising, decreased 3% for the first quarter compared to the same period in 2007. The decrease is also due to the TV advertising marketplace decline in LIN TV's markets, which has impacted most national advertising categories, particularly automotive spending. National advertising revenues represented 32% of total advertising revenues for the first quarter of 2008.

* Core local and national advertising revenues combined, which excludes political advertising, decreased 3% for the first quarter compared to the same period in 2007.

* Advertising categories that decreased for the first quarter of 2008 were automotive, retail, restaurants, services, medical, education and grocery. Advertising categories that increased for the first quarter of 2008 included political, media/telecommunications, insurance/financial services, and health/beauty. The automotive category, which represents 23% of the Company's core advertising revenues for the first quarter of 2008, decreased 5% compared to the same quarter last year.