GE Capital Report Offers Good And Bad News For TV Stations

GE Capital delivered some rare positive news for local media with a report on the health of the TV station business. The General Electric company pointed out a handful of reasons why the business has good long term prospects despite the current ad crunch. The report states that the TV station industry is seeing "new revenue streams from retransmission fees, digital multicasting and the Internet, with mobile revenue on the horizon." Better picture quality and the shift to multicasting will improve business models, says the report adding that TV stations have responded to the threat of time shifting, increased viewing choice and competition for ad dollars by emphasizing their local news and sports content and making content available via streaming video. However, the report didn't mince words about the state of the challenging ad environment. According to its numbers auto advertising in the sector is down 17% while retail is down 15-20%, even as political dollars gave 2008 coffers a big boost. Still, GE Capital sees TV stations holding increased importance in future elections given the strong local reach.