Final '94 financial figures for the TV networks are expected
to be mixed, "despite a buoyant advertising market." According
to analysts, ABC and NBC will post "strong gains," while CBS and
Fox will "show some weakness" for the fourth quarter. Sagging
ratings for CBS and the cost of broadcasting NFL games for Fox
are the main reasons for their expected weak showings. Still,
Smith Barney media analyst John Reidy predicts that aggregate
advertising revenue growth for the 4th and into 1995 will hit
upper single digits, and Dillon Read analyst Edward Atorino sees
broadcast revenue up 10% for the 4th quarter for Cap Cities/ABC,
NBC and Fox. Robert Coen, senior VP and Dir of Forecasting at
McCann-Erickson: "The advertising numbers are coming in strong,
and I don't see any sign of it cooling off." According to
industry analysts, the baseball strike had "less of an impact
than expected on fourth-quarter earnings," although "depriving
the networks of millions of dollars in advertising revenue."
Coen: "In a weak advertising environment, the strike would have
been a disaster. But strong advertising seems to have carried
the networks through" (DOW JONES/ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 1/10).
