A “healthy” 2012 for the broadcast industry led...

A “healthy” 2012 for the broadcast industry led to a sharp increase in TV station transactions in 2013, said BIA Kelsey on its website Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1cWd8t9). Close to 300 TV stations were sold in 2013, up 205 percent from 2012, BIA Kelsey said. The value of TV stations is also on the rise, the analysts said. The “total sale valuation” for television stations increased by 367 percent, BIA Kelsey said. “Strong political advertising revenues from the previous year, retransmission consent revenues and continued historically lower interest rates were all contributing factors to this strong showing,” said the analysis. Radio transactions stayed the same in terms of the number of stations sold and the total value, said BIA Kelsey. The year’s largest radio deal was for 53 Cumulus Media stations bought by Townsquare Media, “estimated to be $238 million,” BIA Kelsey said. “Overall, radio’s continued position in the marketplace is encouraging existing groups to grow and some new groups to enter,” said the Web posting. “We anticipate that 2014 will bring a slight increase as the economy gathers some strength."