Asahi National Broadcasting Co., better known as TV Asahi, said Friday its group net profit for the first half of the 2002 business year dove 73.1 percent to 1.46 billion yen due to a decline in advertising revenues.

"Profits have been battered by the continued deterioration in the advertising market," a company spokesman said.

"As of the end of September, advertising revenues dropped from the previous year for the 14th straight month," he said. "It is a negative factor affecting the broadcasting industry as a whole."

The broadcaster said its group pretax profit plunged 63.4 percent to 3.74 billion yen while group revenues slipped 8 percent to 105.62 billion yen.