Auto Recovery Is Stations' Best Hope

A Q&A with security analyst Barry Lucas of Gabelli & Co. He dissects the finances and operations of legacy media — broadcasting and cable — and advises investors on whether to buy, sell or hold. He does it by going beyond the balance sheets and P&Ls and tracking the trends that are rapidly reshaping the business. He says he is still a believer in the TV broadcasting business despite its recent troubles and expects it to bounce back over the next few years. And the recovery, he says, will be driven far more by auto advertising than by new sources of revenue — retransmission consent, mobile DTV and local online media. On a Comcast-NBC deal, he doesn't think Comcast's acquisition of NBCU makes much sense for Comcast, but if the cable operator goes ahead with the deal and expects to get Washington's approval, it's going to have to "promise, cross their heart, hope to die" that it will not abandon the NBC affiliates.