Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript

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2009-11-06 13:46:07.0

Tags: Fine Living, Advertisement, Wells Fargo & Co., Call Transcript, E.W. Scripps Co., Earnings, Pricing Strategy, Pricing, Marketing Research, Marketing, Seeking Alpha

Question-and-Answer Session

Operator

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from John Janedis from Wells Fargo. Please go ahead.

John Janedis – Wells Fargo

Thank you. Congratulations on the deal, guys. Can you talk a little bit more about ad growth in the quarter. If you take out Fine Living, what was the adjusted ad growth rate for the segment and does that drag go way there at year end?

Ken Lowe

I will tell you what, John, let us be a real quick (inaudible) on subtracting Fine Leaving and get back only we have that immediately.

Joe NeCastro

John, I can just comment on -- Fine Living is obviously off just a little bit year-over-year because it become a Nielson rated service for the first time this year, and we hadn’t anticipated reduction in revenue as a result of that because we were setting high PPMs in the years leading up to the period where we become a rated service. But, it really is not all that material for the larger ad revenue story for us.

John Janedis Wells Fargo

Okay. And maybe just a follow-up, Joe, I know your stance on new ad guidance, but some of your peers have talked about a sequential slowdown in 4Q, just given the comp, if you will, on the scatter, are you guys seeing similar trends?

John Lansing

Let me -- John, this is John. Let me touch on fourth quarter a little bit. Actually, as you’ve heard up throughout the year, we’ve seen scattered pricing improving sequentially quarter-to-quarter, and that story has continued into the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter will be the best in terms of scatter pricing.

In fact, we’re seeing currently scatter pricing that’s in excess of the mid-teens to the high-teens over the recently completely upfront negotiations, and the most recent business that we’ve been negotiating this quarter. We are actually seeing scatter pricing that is at the level or slightly above the level of last year’s scatter.

John Janedis Wells Fargo

Okay, great. And one quickly for Joe. Thanks John. Joe, can you talk about your commercial expenses related to the Cooking Channel launch and maybe the timing around them?

Joe NeCastro

Yes, certainly. We do have an ongoing business plan for the Fine Living Network, and if anything, the way we think about this is that, Cooking Channel will certainly fit within that footprint. It’s a little earlier to say what the plan will be exactly and I -- there will likely be some expenses related to the launch when we are ready to go. But I think it’s little early to say anything beyond. We have money obviously for marketing and staffing and all the other expenses are roughly about $55 million home network, and we are going to continue and we think we can move well within that footprint.

 

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