Journal Communications reported second quarter television revenue of $46.9 million, up 12.8% from the same quarter in the previous year. Radio was up a more modest 1.6%, at $20.2 million, while publishing revenue of $37.6 million represented a 2% decrease.
Journal and Scripps will merge their broadcast and print operations into separate, publicly traded companies. Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close in 2015. Steven Smith, chairman and CEO of Journal Communications, said both companies “will continue to serve their communities with a commitment to integrity, excellence, and enterprise journalism.”
Journal’s overall revenue was $104.7 million in the quarter, a 4.9% increase. Digital revenue of $5.4 million grew 10%.
Television’s local advertising revenue, excluding political, decreased 0.7% while national advertising revenue was off 2%.
In the third quarter of 2014, excluding political revenue, Journal expects total television revenue to be up in the low to mid-teens as compared to the third quarter of 2013. In radio, excluding political revenue, it’s low-single digits, while publishing is expected to be down in the low single digits.
