• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, February 4, 2014

Gannett Co.’s total revenues fell 6% from $1.46 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012 to $1.37 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013, reflecting declines in both its publishing and broadcasting businesses, the company announced Tuesday. The drop in broadcasting was due mostly to the absence of political and Olympic advertising last year.
 
Total revenues at Gannett’s publishing division fell 4.6%, from $990 million to $944 million, as advertising revenues continued to drop. Furthermore, the incremental gains from its digital paywall strategy, the All Access Content Subscription Model implemented in 2012, tapered off. Publishing advertising revenues fell 5.9% to $590 million, while circulation revenues fell 1.6% to $288 million.
 
Gannett’s broadcasting division saw total revenues slump 15.7% from $270 million to $228 million, largely due to the absence of $86 million in political advertising. However, the decrease was offset somewhat by growth in retrans revenues, which jumped 31.5% to $39 million for the quarter. If political advertising were excluded, broadcast segment revenues would have risen 23.4% in the fourth quarter.
 
Digital was a bright spot in the fourth quarter.

Gannett’s publishing division saw digital revenues increase 10.8%, thanks to digital advertising and marketing services, including an 8.8% increase in local domestic publishing operations and an 8.9% increase at USA Today. The company’s digital segment, which includes CareerBuilder and is considered separately, saw total revenues increase 4.4% from $187 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 to $196 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. Company-wide, digital revenues increased 6.1% to $391 million.
 
Looking ahead, Gannett said it expects its TV revenues to double with its acquisition of Belo. The $1.5 billion deal, announced last year, closed in late December .