TV Station Revenues to end year lower than anticipated.

The television industry will end 2009 with lower than expected revenues of $15.6 billion, a 22.4 percent decline from 2008, in a year that was dominated by shifting advertising budgets and a poor economy, according to BIA/Kelsey, a strategic and financial advisor to media companies in the local marketplace. The significant drop also begins a leveling-off of television industry revenues to the mid-$10 billion level – not seen since the mid-1990s – through at least 2013, as reported in the fourth edition of BIA/Kelsey’s “Investing In Television Market Report.”

BIA/Kelsey sees 2010 revenues for the television industry as increasing slightly to $16.1 billion, of which $130 million in additional revenues will come from online advertising. The company notes that online income brought the industry $518 million in 2009, a 12 percent increase over last year’s $463 million. BIA/Kelsey predicts continuous annual double-digit revenue growth from online channels, such as Internet and mobile, through 2013, when the industry should reach the $1 billion mark.

The “Investing In Television Market Report” also shows that while most markets did poorly in 2009, others will manage to post positive numbers in 2010, primarily due to significant state and local elections. Included in the list are several Pennsylvania markets, including Philadelphia (6.5 percent) and Pittsburgh (5 percent); Las Vegas (5 percent); and Chicago, St. Louis and Hartford-New Haven, which all are expected to post 4.5 percent increases in 2010.

“While television’s numbers are tapering down due to audience erosion from other media delivery options, we continue to see that local TV remains a valuable way to reach relatively larger audiences, critical for mass communications in political campaigns,” said Mark Fratrik, Ph.D., vice president, BIA Advisory Services. “Additionally, online revenues are expected to grow as stations get more sophisticated in the way they sell to advertisers and integrate their mobile and Internet offerings with their broadcasting operations.”

“Investing in Television” provides comprehensive listings of all digital television stations, including all full power stations and their final position allocations now that the digital conversion has passed. The guide also includes the more than 1,400 multicast signals currently provided by local television stations.

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For more information at http://www.bia.com