Media Companies May See Ad Recovery Continue

Diversified media companies are expected to post quarterly results close to year-earlier figures, although the advertising market continues to improve from a sharp downturn during the recession. Prices in the broadcast television ad market were reported to be up 30% in September, at the start of the fall season, from two months earlier, as political-ad demand has been strong. Ad-revenue growth is likely to be especially stout at cable-television networks. Even the number of ad pages in long-struggling U.S. magazines inched up in the third quarter, the second growth period in a row.