• November 15, 2004

Apparently, there are a number of outdoorsmen--and women--who enjoy the experience of fly-fishing in the comfort of their own home. Outdoor Channel Holdings, which offers television programming for hunting and nature enthusiasts, reported increased revenue from higher ad sales and subscriber fees for the 2004 third quarter.

The company's revenue comes primarily from the operation of its wholly owned national cable television network, The Outdoor Channel. The channel has had a successful hunting season thus far--at least in terms of revenues--as total revenues increased 29.9 percent and 29.0 percent, respectively, for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2004, compared with the corresponding prior-year periods, the company said in a statement.

In dollar figures, the third-quarter revenue increases amounted to $11 million up from $8.4 million. Higher subscriber counts for The Outdoor Channel, compared with a year ago, according to Nielsen Media Research, contributed to a 36.2 percent improvement in ad sales to $5.7 million from $4.2 million in the 2003 third quarter. Subscriber fees rose 14.8 percent to $3.5 million.

Meanwhile, total expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2004 rose to $60.9 million, as the company sought to acquire the minority interest in the Outdoor Channel from investors.

As of November 2004, according to Nielsen, The Outdoor Channel was in approximately 25.3 million homes through a combination of cable and satellite dish subscribers.