Some detail from Smulyan's comments about June, July and August worth noting that we'll be watching as other public company's come to the reporting table. 9 out of the top 10 Emmis advertisers for August came from the beverage or wireless categories. In fact, the beverage business was up a whopping 45% in August of 2011. That includes beer, spirits and soft drinks. Additionally, for the quarter, Emmis' top five categories were Automotive, Beverages, Wirelss, Health Care and Movies. Smulyan, who is always upbeat about his company and radio in general, also said Emmis sold 81% of its inventory in the quarter but was able to increase rate by 7%.
As a result of the sale of three stations to Merlin, Emmis has been able to repay 38% of its debt and hopes to refinance when the credit markets are more favorable for the company to do so. Smulyan said "we have just about gotten to the top of a very big hole. We're not there yet but we have come a very long way. We are seeing some positive signs."
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