Media General Thriving In Its Post-Paper Era

Media General is a stronger, more focused media company after offloading its newspaper business earlier this year, according to executives speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications conference in New York today.

“The monumental change away from the newspaper business will enable us to focus on platforms with strong growth potential including the appeal to younger demographics,” said George Mahoney, Media General’s chief operating officer. Mahoney is slated to replace outgoing CEO Marshall Morton, who is retiring at the end of this year.

The 2012 revenue picture was bright, with this year’s contentious political campaign proving to be a boon for Media General, which benefitted from six of its stations operating in four of the election’s key battleground states.

Mahoney adjusted the company’s outlook for political revenue to $64 million, up from its previous estimate of $57 million to $58 million, and an all-time high in political revenue for the company.

But the company won’t just fall off the political cliff after this year. Mahoney expects political revenue to reach at least $5 million in 2013, primarily from the gubernatorial race in Virginia and issue advertising in Ohio and elsewhere. Also, of 33 Senate races in 2014, Media General stations cover nine of them.

The company also received revenue boosts from the Olympics and the Super Bowl on its NBC stations. The Super Bowl, which generated $3 million for the company in 2012, will also boost its 2013 bottom line, when Media General’s eight CBS stations will carry the game.

The Olympics generated $15.5 million for Media General, a 40% increase over the 2008 Summer Games, according to Mahoney.

Providence, R.I.’s WJAR; Tampa, Fla.’s WFLA; Columbus, Ohio’s WCMH; Raleigh, N.C.’s WNCN; and Roanoke, Va.’s WSLS performed particularly well during the Olympics. “As the excitement [for the games] drove viewership, rates increased for all stations,” Mahoney said. “But these markets also saw additional pressure on inventory due to heavy political spending, which allowed us to drive still higher rates.”

WCMH rated fifth out of 56 markets for NBC’s primetime coverage during the games, he said.

Mahoney added that Media General’s revenue growth also included a 75% increase in retransmission revenue — pulling in about $37 million for the full year — and an 18% rise in digital revenue — $10 million for the full year.

The company’s core business was also strong, growing 17% in the third quarter, according to Mahoney. “We saw healthy growth in almost every one of our top 10 advertising categories,” he said.

Media General has several initiatives in the works to help boost its digital revenue next year, including migrating its stations’ sites to an improved content management system and expanding its content offerings to develop new audiences.

The company also plans to increase its digital ad inventory and further expanding its online-only sales force. “Our digital revenue growth next year should exceed the expected industry average of 21%,” Mahoney predicted.