• by Wayne Friedman , February 26, 2007

Hearst-Argyle Television got some of the same political advertising boost as other TV groups in the fourth quarter--all of which rocketed their financial results for the period. And it helped raise the bottom line for 2006.

For the full year, the company pulled in $785.4 million in revenue--an 11% increase. It expects to realize between $754 million and $778 million in 2007 revenue.

Net income in 2006 for the fourth quarter was four times higher at $44.1 million, or 46 cents a share--a giant leap over the final three months of 2005, which came in at $9.9 million in net income, or 11 cents a share. Quarterly revenue also spiked to $234.4 million, up from the $192 million of the period before.

Political revenue, which was a record for the period thanks to midterm elections, gained $42.7 million from the year before to $49.6 million. For the full year, political and Olympic advertising was at $88 million--up from $12.3 million in 2005.

"Extraordinary political spending in 2006 helped to offset some continuing weakness in the automotive category, particularly in respect to domestic manufacturers," said David Barrett, president and CEO of Hearst-Argyle Television, in a statement.

Going forward, the company expects that growing political issues and ever-heftier campaign spending could make the political category a more stable player--versus the every-other-year cycle that gives inconsistent spikes and drops to stations' revenue.

As with many TV stations, digital-media revenue is expected to move higher, too. For its most recent year, Hearst-Argyle took in $15.5 million. For next year, it expects to move into a range of $21 million to $24 million.