Digitaltveurope.com

TV production and international radio both helped keep Lagardère Active, the French conglomerate’s media arm, on an even keel for the third quarter.

International radio activities saw an uplift of 12.2%, while a catching up in deliveries of TV productions helped lift that activity by 6.6%. Lagardère Active’s overall performance was pulled down by a 3.5% decline in its magazines arm.

The third quarter was boosted by increased deliveries of TV productions and notably by Season 3 of Borgia.

Lagardère Active saw its revenues for the first nine months decline by 6.5% on a like-for-like basis year-on-year to €643 million, but its third quarter performance improved, with a 1.6% like-for-like decline to €208 million.

The division saw a bigger gross decline on a nine months basis of 7.5% as a result the sale of six print titles, offset to the tune of €7 million by the acquisition of TV production company Groupe Réservoir.

Lagardère said that its comparative nine months performance this year was impacted by an unusual lift in deliveries of productions at the start of 2013. Advertising revenues this year were down 4.9%.