As we approach year's end, I want to take a moment to thank everyone
and
congratulate you on a very successful 2002.
In spite of an economy that is still trying to gain traction, this was
a
record-breaking year for NBC, with revenues, operating profits and
operating
cash flow at all-time highs.
There is a lot for us to be proud of. Our Sales team has done an
outstanding
job, ensuring that we continue to sell our airtime at a significant
premium.
In this year's upfront, we captured a phenomenal 53% of the overall
growth
in the market, on our way to an upfront selling season of record
dimensions.
Of course, we couldn't pull this off without having exceptional
strength in
what we put on our air, and NBC Entertainment continues to deliver
programming that attracts the most desirable audience in television. We
won
24 Emmy Awards this year, more than any other broadcast network, and we
won
every sweep period. We have significant double-digit advantages over
the
competition in upscale adults 18-49, delivering 7 of the top 10
prime-time
shows in this demographic. Meanwhile, NBC News continues as the
industry
leader, with Today, Nightly News, and Meet the Press maintaining their
secure No. 1 positions and Dateline continuing to get the job done in
prime-time.
NBC Sports put on an extraordinary Winter Olympics, which was seen by
187
million Americans and generated millions of dollars in profits for NBC,
behind record advertising revenue of $740 million. The Olympics won
every
half hour in prime-time each of the 17 days of the broadcast.
Our Stations division -- the industry's most profitable -- had great
success
in its strategy of winning new business from clients who traditionally
rely
on print and outdoor advertising. In fact, Stations earned $90 million
in
new business this year. At the same time, they drove productivity
through
digitization initiatives worth $15 million, and successfully integrated
KNTV
into the fold, boosting its ratings by 18%.
Among our cable properties, CNBC held steady despite a brutal climate
for
financial advertising and is positioned for double-digit gains in
operating
profit in 2003.
New acquisition Telemundo has captured an increasing share of the
growing
Hispanic market. Earnings more than doubled for the year, and we are
expecting continued growth in earnings and ratings as we leverage our
competitive advantages in newsgathering and production in our key
duopoly
markets. In addition, we expanded Telemundo distribution with the
purchase
this year of four additional stations. By the way, this acquisition
hasn't
just changed the television landscape. It also gives NBC a new level of
diversity that we are very proud of. We also expect to see strong
growth
from our most recent acquisition, Bravo, as it reaps the benefits of
NBC's
resources and expertise.
This was a year of significant growth for NBC. Our three major
acquisitions
-- Telemundo, Bravo, and KNTV -- have increased our headcount
substantially
and put enormous demands on many of us, especially in Business
Development,
Finance, Legal, and Human Resources. The hard-working staff in these
divisions handled everything we asked of them with grace and skill.
Each of you has had a hand in these successes and others that I haven't
touched on here. Again, I thank you for your hard work and dedication.
As
always, the coming year will be full of challenges, but I am confident
we
will continue to outperform the competition. Our path is well laid out,
we
are positioned for growth, and we have the best employees in the
industry.
