Clear Channel Outdoor CEO Scott Wells spoke at last week’s Wells Fargo TMT conference. Here’s a selection of his comments prepared by SignValue.
Outlook for 2025
So far so good…We are…very fortunate that we had a clear election…businesses are pretty positive about the economic outlook…it’s not going to be a free for all in raising rates. I think we’re going to have to fight for every increase…
MTA Contract
If you…looked at our inventory in New York, pre the MTA, what you’d see is really outstanding coverage in New Jersey heading into New York, really outstanding coverage in Times Square, decent coverage at the main bridges and tunnels…and then a big donut hole in the rest of New York…this is a chance for us to be very relevant in core New York ad buys…I would think of it as similar to our airports business…this is going to help us with negotiations with big advertisers…Whoever doesn’t have a contract is going to talk about how grotesque the economics of the contract are for the winner…this is not going to be like a cataclysmic negative. It’s not going to be as high margin as a roadside asset in Ocala, Florida…but it’s a way to increase our footprint.
Europe North
Europe north went on the market about a year ago…Getting the Europe South pieces done took quite a bit of time…The driver of time is…the complexity of the business and the fact that we are living through history…there’s inflation and high interest rates…and we were going through an active renewal period…I think we’re in a window now where…we can get to fruition. There’s not a lot of people lining up…when you walk into an investor and say would you like to sign up for a capital intensive cyclical in Europe you’re not going to be overwhelmed by people running over you…I feel good that we’re going to get something done.
SignValue’s Take: Encouraging to hear the 2025 outlook is positive. Wells’ comments on Europe North should be memorized and recited back to any US out of home exec who ever wants to enter Europe or invest in Europe. If you have questions contact Paul Wright, CEO, SignValue, paul@signvalue.com, 480-657-8400.
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