Second half of 2010 looks strong for TV stations, but 2011's outlook is all about confidence

It is, by all accounts, a very good time to be running a television station ownership group.

After years of being stuck in neutral, automotive advertising is revving along, up as much as 60% year over year. Core business -- from local mom-and-pops, retail, restaurants and the like -- is also cooking again. And the fall's political season looks to be so gargantuan that it will likely surpass the record amounts spent by candidates in 2008's presidential season. The second half's earnings numbers will shine even brighter when compared to their dim counterparts in 2009. "Automotive has undergone a resurgence, and we see it continuing in the third and fourth quarter," says Meredith Local Media President Paul Karpowicz, who forecasts Meredith revenue to climb up in the high teens to 20% over last year in the second half. "Business has come back to life; life is good." Station groups have considerable momentum as they zoom into the second half of the year.

Petry Television President/CEO Val Napolitano, who handles agency business for around 120 stations, says stations' national ad revenue is not only robust but remarkably consistent across several categories. "It's not just automotive, but fast food, retail, travel," he says. "It's almost all categories." Local broadcasters say it's just the type of broad-based recovery that should sustain itself through the rest of the year.