WRAPUP 1-European broadcasters say ad spending improving

* France's TF1 ups '09 sales goal, ad spend improved in Q3

* TF1 says ad mkt stabilized, October ad sales positive

* Italy's Mediaset sees improving trend in Nov-Dec sales

* RTL Group Q3 EBITA up 22.7 pct, sees better ad bookings

By Dominique Vidalon

PARIS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Three of Europe's top commercial broadcasters said on Tuesday they saw signs TV advertising sales were improving, but they remained cautious on the outlook for the year and beyond.

Italy's biggest private broadcaster Mediaset SpA (MS.MI) said advertising sales in November and December would show an improving trend while France's TF1 (TFFP.PA) said TV ad spending improved in retail, food and cosmetics in the third quarter, and it raised its 2009 sales goal. [ID:nL9400128]

Meanwhile Europe's biggest commercial broadcaster RTL Group AUDK.LU said it saw improved TV advertisement bookings but had no visibility for the rest of the year. [ID:nLA259583]

A growing list of media companies are saying the worst may be over for the battered advertising industry, although they have yet to see signs of a sustained recovery in corporate ad spending.

France's leading commercial broadcaster TF1 said closely watched advertising sales fell 6 percent in the third quarter after slumping 27 percent in the first quarter and 19 percent in the second quarter 2009.

"The third quarter is much better than expected and the TV advertising market looks like it's stabilising, but we remain very cautious on the market evolution," TF1 Chief Financial Officer Philippe Denery said on a conference call.

October ad sales at TF1 were "positive," he said, adding that the trend for October was "good" for TV advertising and "better" than that of September. For November, comparables were "less favorable" and there was no visibility on December. Pressure on prices remained strong but there was no further deterioration, Denery added.

TF1 now expects 2009 sales to decline 11 percent, compared with a previous forecast of a 13 percent drop.

Mediaset (MS.MI), owned by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, on Tuesday reported a 48 percent fall in nine-month net profit to 184.2 million euros in the period, exceeding analyst expectations for 171 million euros. [ID:nLA725358]

"Current evidence suggests that advertising sales in the last two months of 2009 ... will continue to show an improving trend compared with the previous nine months of the year," Mediaset said in a statement.

However, Mediaset said it still expected to post 2009 operating and consolidated net profits markedly lower than 2008.