• by Wayne Friedman , February 9, 2007

Tribune Co.'s future ownership may be up in the air, but the company has witnessed a turnaround of sorts on its TV and publishing ad fronts.

Its fourth-quarter profit surged 81%, with net income rising to $239.1 million from $132.3 million. Its TV businesses witnessed cash flows 12% higher; revenue climbed to a 10% gain.

Tribune said there were gains in political, movie, telecommunications and education advertising. Retail advertising, however, was lower.

Tribune CEO Dennis FitzSimons says the Tribune's stations are gaining because of MyNetworkTV's lower ratings results. This has forced MyNetworkTV stations out of sale in the fourth-quarter and first-quarter periods, which sent local advertisers to CW.

Tribune was up "mid-single digits" on CW program pricing in the fourth quarter, he says, but it expects to do better in the first quarter.

Still, FitzSimons says overall broadcasting revenue in January is down slightly--but up a bit in February. The weakness there comes from early fringe and access ad sales. FitzSimons blames continued softness in the automotive business.

But in the fall, Tribune stations will get two high-profile off-network sitcoms to sell: "Family Guy" and "Two and a Half Men." Both shows can enjoy double runs on stations' schedules.

Also, the Los Angeles Times made major gains from movie advertising in the fourth quarter, as the paper increased share of the business against daily entertainment newspapers Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

The entire publishing business was up 4% to $1.1 billion, and operating profit increased 30% to $225 million.

While the Los Angeles Times touted three straight months of higher movie advertising, the movie ad business on television has been soft in January. Tribune expects conditions to get better in February and March.

Tribune says 40% of its ad revenue for its stations comes from early- and late-fringe programming. Tribune gets 18% of its revenue from CW's prime-time division. News TV programming accounts for 15%.

For TV stations, a lot has always ridden on automotive advertising, which in 2006 was soft. Now, Tribune says automotive business should grow again. FitzSimons says 50 new models are set to launch in 2007, and he says that should bring more business to TV and its publishing business later this year.

Tribune Co. has been reviewing offers for its newspaper and broadcasting operations.