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CME Says TV Ad Prices May Start to Grow in Second Half of 2010
April 21, 2010, Bloomberg
by Lenka Ponikelska
Central European Media Enterprises Ltd., the east European broadcaster that sold a stake to Time Warner Inc., expects regional TV ad prices to begin rising in the second half after reaching “bottom” in the first quarter.
“We see some signals that the mood in our markets has improved a little bit and the prices for advertisers will start to rise again in the second half,” Chief Executive Officer Adrian Sarbu said in an interview in Prague. During declines, “we continued to support clients by promotion packages and other incentives.”
The broadcaster, known as CME, has been battling a slump of as much as 30 percent in TV ad spending in 2009 after companies cut marketing budgets during the economic crisis. The Bermuda- based broadcaster, which operates TV channels in six central and eastern European countries, said in February its markets may begin to rebound in the second half.
CME’s first-quarter TV ad revenue remained “weak” in most markets or even “bottomed” in some from a year ago, Sarbu said. Slovenia and Croatia performed better in the period from a year earlier, according to the executive.
CME operates TV stations in the Czech Republic, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Bulgaria. Later this year, the company is considering providing “more specific” earnings guidance for the next “few years,” he said.
The broadcaster sees a “positive trend” in the second quarter in terms of TV ad spending, compared with the previous three-month period, Sarbu said. The Czech Republic, CME’s largest market, is likely to perform “reasonably” in the period, he said.
Ad prices in the region, which peaked in 2008, may return to pre-crisis levels in 2011, depending on developments in each market, Sarbu added.
CME said on Feb. 24 its fourth-quarter net loss narrowed to $55 million from $328.1 million a year ago after an impairment charge was not repeated.
For additional information, please contact:
Romana Wyllie
Vice President of Corporate Communications
Central European Media Enterprises
Krizeneckeho nam. 1078/5
152 00 Praha 5
Czech Republic
+420 242 465 525
romana.wyllie@cme-net.com
