• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, May 10, 2010

Gray Television continues to pick up a check for doing virtually nothing as part of a deal involving Young Broadcasting. But a top executive said he is eager for that to end -- hopefully by mid-June, if not sooner.

"I'd rather be doing the work," said Gray COO Bob Prather in a phone interview.

Prather provided an update on the Young matter as Gray released results for the recently completed first quarter. Gray saw revenues up 15% to $70.5 million over the period, while reporting a net loss near $5 million.

Under a deal reached last year, Gray was to begin managing seven stations owned by a bankrupt Young Broadcasting and receive a $2.2 million annual consulting fee. The money has continued to flow in -- as of April 1, it had collected $1.5 million.

Gray has been waiting for a bankruptcy court decision allowing it to begin oversight of the stations, which stretch from Richmond, Va. to the Dakotas. A recent ruling has Prather saying "ideally" that would begin by June 15, although he indicated Monday it could be sooner.

The company wants to move in since part of its contract calls for it to receive incentive bonuses for performance of the Young stations. "We think we've got a real strong future ahead of us ... we think there's still a lot of upside," he said on an earnings call.

Gray executives began working with the seven Young stations last year, but the process came to a halt as two proposed plans of reorganization were floated in bankruptcy court. Gray's deal runs through the end of 2012.

The Young stations include the ABC outlets in Nashville and Richmond and CBS coverage in the Dakotas. The arrangement would boost Gray's portfolio to 43 stations, mostly in state capitals and regions with large universities.

Along with the troubled economy, Prather said Gray suffered last year from some of its stations being in markets served by Alltel Wireless. Alltel pulled all advertising after Verizon Wireless acquired it. "That was a big blow to us," Prather said.

Among other matters, Gray announced a new five-year retrans deal with DirecTV, and said it is counting on strong political revenues to fuel it through the end of the year.