TV broadcasting stocks look undervalued-Barron's

NEW YORK, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Shares of television broadcasters look undervalued, given a recent pick-up in viewership, the prospect for retransmission fees from cable operators, and interest by private equity in buying TV stations, Barron's reported.

Shares of companies including Hearst-Argyle Television Inc. (HTV.N), Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. (SBGI.O), Lin TV Corp. (TVL.N), Gray Television Inc. (GTN.N) and Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc. (NXST.O), may have an upside if Sinclair prevails in a battle to be paid for providing local stations to cable systems.

A recent sale of TV stations by the New York Times Co. (NYT.N) to a private equity group suggests a strong appetite for TV properties, putting a floor under stocks in the sector, the business news weekly reported in its Jan. 15 edition.

Hearst-Argyle's top shareholder, the Hearst media conglomerate, owns 74 percent of the company's stock and could move to buy out public shareholders, Barron's said.