Young Broadcasting said today that it probably won’t be able to sell KRON Channel 4 by the end of the month as it had planned.

On Jan. 10, Young said it wanted to shed the station by the end of the first quarter so it could focus on its more profitable network affiliates in the Midwest.

Today’s statement didn’t say whether there was a lack of interest in KRON or whether potential buyers were hobbled by the credit crisis. When KRON went up for sale, there was speculation that NBC and Fox would be interested.

The announcement was part of Young’s quarterly earnings press release, which began by presenting results that excluded KRON, treating the San Francisco station “as a discontinued operation.” Including KRON, Young posted a $4 million loss for the quarter compared to a $700,000 profit in the period a year earlier. Revenues fell to $44 million from $50 million a year ago.