DECREASING RISK TOLERANCE
Media stocks seemed to be churning as investors determine the direction of the near-term fundamentals. The U.S. economy reflected a slower pace of job growth and there were indications that the Fed will raise interest rates. Both of these weighed heavily on the economically sensitive media stocks. The hardest hit among the media sectors were highly leveraged companies, such as the radio sector. Stocks that fared better were “catalyst” driven companies, like E.W. Scripps and Gannett, both will or have spun off newspaper assets. In addition, both companies will benefit from strong Political advertising next year. Investors seem to view television companies as lower risk investments as witnessed by their outperformance of the other media sectors in Q1. We believe that the U.S. economy is on solid footing, with little prospect of slipping into recession in the near term. As such, we believe that the selloff in highly leveraged media companies is likely over done.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Media Outlook • Media Briefs • Industry activity • Segment Analysis TV • Segment Analysis Radio • Segment Analysis Publishing • Segment Analysis Digital Media & Technology • Noble Overview

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