• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, August 8, 2012

The Outdoor Channel plans to hire a pair of senior executives, one in marketing and the other in programming, since distribution is growing and "Major League Fishing" programming is driving higher ad sales.
 
The network’s distribution has increased by approximately 12% to 38 million homes, per Nielsen, in the last year, while ad sales were up 19% to $8.7 million in the second quarter.
 
"MLF", which has a partnership with the network, has a top-line sponsor in Jack Link’s. Early next year, one of its events will air on NBC, then repeat on the Outdoor Channel a week later.
 
Even as "MLF" helped drive ad sales, it was not profitable in the second quarter, according to the network’s parent company. Total revenues at Outdoor Channel Holdings rose 12% to $16 million in Q2, while a loss narrowed by a large margin to $62,000.
 
The two new executives to join the senior management team at Outdoor Channel are expected to be added in the third quarter. On a conference call this week, CEO Tom Hornish said for both positions: “I’m looking for somebody that’s been there, done that before with a major network or has grown a major network.”
 
The company also said marketing and advertising and programming expenses would ramp up as the year progresses.
 
Publicly traded Outdoor Channel Holdings is exploring a divestiture of its business that provides the technology for aerial cameras at sports events and has been the subject of a government contract.

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