Businessweek

LIN TV Corp. operates as a local multimedia company. The company’s digital media division operates from 28 markets across the country, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Austin, and delivers measurable results to the nation's most respected agencies and companies. It provides free, over-the-air broadcasts of its programming 24 hours per day to the communities the company is licensed to serve. Strategy The principal components of the company’s strategy include sustain its local news leadership; build scale, synergies & efficiencies; grow and differentiate its digital media business; secure subscriber fees from pay-television operators; continue to explore new uses for its spectrum; grow its revenue share through a focus on local programming; and provide superior community service. Television Stations The company owns, operates or services 43 television stations and 7 digital channels in 23 U.S. markets, including 2 television stations and 1 digital channel pursuant to local marketing agreements, 6 affiliates pursuant to joint sales and shared services agreements, 2 affiliates pursuant to shared services agreements, and 3 low-power stations, which are affiliated with a national network and operate as stand-alone stations. Its portfolio of Websites, apps and mobile products make it convenient to access its content on multiple screens and its multimedia advertising solutions capture the attention of target audiences and deliver results. Local, National and Political Advertising Revenues: The company generates local, national and political advertising revenues principally from advertising time sold in its local news, network and syndicated programming. Retransmission Consent Fees: The company has retransmission consent agreements with cable, satellite and telecommunications providers from which it earns retransmission consent fees for the right to carry its signals in their pay-television services to consumers. Television Station Website Revenues: The company generates revenues through advertisements on its television stations' Websites and mobile applications. Interactive Revenues: The company generates interactive revenues primarily by providing online advertising and media services through its online advertising and media services business, LIN Digital, and Nami Media Inc., its digital advertising management and technology company. Other Revenues: Other revenues include barter of unsold advertising inventory for goods and services that are required to operate the company’s television stations or are used in sales and marketing efforts. The company also acquires certain syndicated programming by providing a portion of the available advertising inventory within the program, in lieu of cash payments. Additionally, the company receives other revenues from sources, such as renting space on its television towers, renting its production facilities, copyright royalties and providing television production services. The company earns fee income through shared services agreements for two stations located in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe market, under which it provides technical, engineering, promotional, administrative and other operational support services from its stations that the company owns and operates within the market. The company also has shared services agreements and joint sales agreements for stations in the Dayton, Ohio, Savannah, Georgia, Topeka, Kansas and Youngstown, Ohio markets, pursuant to which it also provides advertising sales services. Sources and Availability of Programming The company programs its television stations from the following program sources: news and general entertainment programming that is produced by its local television stations; network programming, such as CSI or Modern Family; Syndicated programming: off-network programs, such as Criminal Minds or How I Met Your Mother and first-run programs, such as Jeopardy, Entertainment Tonight or Wheel of Fortune; Paid programming: arrangements where a third party pays its stations for a block of time, generally in one-half hour or one hour time periods to air long-form advertising or infomercials; digital s