Mumbai: The New York Times Co. has sold its broadcast division, including nine television stations, for $575 million to private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, saying it would concentrate on its newspaper business.

The deal includes affiliates of the ABC, NBC and CBS networks in Iowa, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Illinois, Virginia, Pennsylvania and two in Oklahoma.

Like other newspapers, New York Times Co is also seeing a downturn in its revenues with depressed advertising and circulation, and has sought to cut costs while building its internet business.

Late last year, the group said its revenues from internet-related businesses, including About.com and NYTimes.com, could grow by 30 per cent in 2007.

New York Times Co. chief executive Janet Robinson said in a statement that the sale would allow the media company to focus on the "development of our newspapers and our rapidly growing digital businesses."

The group said it expects to be complete the sale of its broadcast media in the first half of 2007.