[BC] Zell Raids Clear Channnel

[Bill Sepmeier]

Four more Clear Channel executives jumped to Tribune last week, and together with the radio and TV veterans that had already joined the Sam Zell team it suggests to the Wall Street Journal that Zell "may put more emphasis on the broadcasting side of Tribune, a side of the business that generates higher profit margins and doesn't face the same rapid falloff in advertising as the newspaper business." WSJ also says:
The emphasis on television reflects its relatively healthy performance. The company's broadcasting and entertainment side -- including a chain of 23 broadcast TV stations -- already generates much higher profit margins than its newspapers, which include the L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsday of Long Island. Although the broadcasting side accounted for just over a quarter of the company's revenue in 2007, it produced nearly half the company's operating profit, according to a filing last month with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 
And while many newspapers across the industry have been posting sharper declines in ad revenue so far this year compared to the beginning of last year, analysts expect the local TV business to do better, in part because of the influx of political advertising tied to the presidential election.
As Tribune begins to sell major assets, broadcasting is likely to become even more important to the bottom line.