Radio One, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROIAK and ROIA) today reported its results for the quarter ended September 30, 2016. Net revenue was approximately $110.9 million, a decrease of 4.3% from the same period in 2015. Broadcast and internet operating income1 was approximately $43.0 million, an increase of 2.9% from the same period in 2015. The Company reported operating income of approximately $24.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016, compared to operating income of $7.1 million for the same period in 2015. Net loss was $423,000 or $0.01 per share (basic) compared to $18.1 million or $0.38 per share (basic) for the same period in 2015.
Alfred C. Liggins, III, Radio One's CEO and President stated, "Despite softer than anticipated third quarter revenues, our continuing cost control measures helped to deliver positive Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter, and we re-affirm our guidance for Adjusted EBITDA in the range $133-$137 million for FY 2016. During the third quarter we signed a letter of intent for the sale of our FM towers, and we anticipate closing that transaction in the fourth quarter.
Based on Miller Kaplan, our radio clusters were down 6.4%, compared to the markets -3%. Total spot revenue for our radio clusters in the third quarter was -4.3% compared to prior year, a slight underperformance versus our markets, which were down 3.2%. The anticipated lift from political advertising revenue did not materialize in Q3, although we have subsequently seen a significant increase in political revenue as election day approaches. Our fourth quarter radio pacings are currently up approximately 3.6%. We have continued to eliminate unprofitable NTR events, which has helped mitigate the impact of lower radio revenues on the bottom line, and recently made a significant new hire for our local digital business which I believe will help us to grow that revenue stream over time: Mark Charnock, formerly SVP of Sales at Monster, has been recruited as Chief Digital Revenue Officer for the radio division and Reach Media.
Cable television revenues were impacted by audience under-delivery relative to our 2015/16 upfront rate card, but as we move into Q4 and the new broadcast year, we have course-corrected and this issue is not expected to recur. We anticipate high single digit advertising growth for TV One in the fourth quarter.
In order to better reflect the diversified media platform that we have built, effective January 2017, we will be renaming the company Urban One, Inc. Each entity will retain their current brands and names, so the radio stations will continue to roll-up under the Radio One brand, and the same applies to TV One, Interactive One and Reach Media."
Radio One, Inc. (radio-one.com), together with its subsidiaries, is a diversified media company that primarily targets African-American and urban consumers. It is one of the nation's largest radio broadcasting companies, currently owning and/or operating 56 stations in 16 urban markets in the United States. Through its controlling interest in Reach Media, Inc. (blackamericaweb.com), the Company also operates syndicated programming including the Tom Joyner Morning Show, the Russ Parr Morning Show, the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, the DL Hughley Show, Bishop T.D. Jakes' Empowering Moments, and the Reverend Al Sharpton Show.
Beyond its core radio broadcasting franchise, Radio One owns Interactive One (interactiveone.com), the fastest growing and definitive digital resource for Black and Latin Americans, reaching millions each month through social content, news, information, and entertainment. Interactive One operates a number of branded sites including News One (news), The Urban Daily (men), Hello Beautiful (women), Global Grind (Millennials) and social networking websites such as BlackPlanet and MiGente. The Company also owns TV One, LLC(tvone.tv), a cable/satellite network programming serving more than 57 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies and music designed to entertain, inform and inspire a diverse audience of adult Black viewers. Additionally, One Solution combines the dynamics of Radio One's holdings to provide brands with an integrated and effectively engaging marketing approach that reaches 82% of Black Americans throughout the country.
