Strong 3Q for Outdoor Channel Parent

Outdoor Channel Holdings Inc. Monday reported record advertising sales and subscriber fees for the third quarter.

The parent company of The Outdoor Channel said third-quarter revenue rose 29.9% to $11 million from $8.4 million in the year-earlier quarter.

The company added that higher subscriber counts for the network, plus increased advertisements in publications, helped to push a 36.2% rise in advertising ales to $5.7 million from $4.2 million in the year-ago period.

Subscriber fees rose 14.8% to $3.5 million from $3 million in the prior-year quarter, while membership income jumped 45.1% to $1.8 million from $1.2 million, the latter due to increases in participants in the company's gold shows and its annual Alaska trip.

The parent company’s purchase of the stake in the network that it didn’t previously own slashed into its net income. The resulting $52.2 million charge led to a net loss of $30.3 million, or $1.92 per share, versus net income of $1.3 million ($0.08) in the year-earlier quarter.

“Our investments in advertising, marketing, programming and the high-definition format, while affecting margins in the near-term, are designed to keep The Outdoor Channel among the leaders of quality entertainment for the traditional outdoor enthusiast,” Outdoor Channel Holdings chairman and CEO Perry T. Massie said in a prepared statement.