• by Wayne Friedman , May 10, 2011

Television deal making has grown tenfold since a year ago in dollar volume -- but is still way behind pre-recessionary levels.

Media researcher SNL Kagan says TV deals worth $185 million were recorded through the first four months of this year, up from $19 million over the same period a year ago. Fifteen full-power TV stations have been sold through April 30, versus seven a year ago.

An analysis by SNL Kagan now says the total TV deal volume of $1.16 billion in 2009 seems too high and is not indicative of the strength of the marketplace, since $880 million came from easy-to-make deals such as debt-for-equity swaps and restructuring deals.

After the recession, TV deal-making slowed to a crawl. In 2010, TV deal volume was at $125 million for the entire year, with 23 stations changing hands. Typical cash-flow price multiples, which had been in the high teens for 10-plus years before the recession, sank to single-digit percentages -- the first time since 1995.

Year-to-date average price deal multiples (price times cash flow) are now 7.4 times for TV stations and 8.2 times for radio stations. The average TV station cash-flow multiple in 2010 was 9.8 times; for 2009, it was 10.0 times.

Looking at all broadcast deal-making -- TV and radio -- total dollar volume also went up around tenfold through the first four months of the year -- $3.1 billion against $363 million in 2010.

The top TV-related deal was Southeastern Media Acquisition's purchase of Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. for $73.73 million. Big radio station deals include a $2.4 billion Cumulus Corp. bid for Citadel Communications and a $505 million Hubbard Broadcasting deal for 18 Bonneville Radio stations.