In an earnings statement released today by Vivendi, the corporation that owns Blizzard, it appears they included something that they shouldn’t have.
The report on the first quarter of 2008 shows that Vivendi have a revenue of 5.3 Billion Euros, which is an increase of 5.2% compared to this time last year. It also says that it has been a “Very Good First Quarter”, and states that WoW’s subscriber base is now 10.7 million. However, in the first section on page one, it says quite clearly that Wrath of the Lich King is due to be released this year:
Very good operating achievements were offset by non recurring or calendar impacts: the first quarter of 2007 included notably the successful launch of the first expansion set World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (the second expansion set is anticipated to be released in the second half of 2008) and the favorable settlement of a tax litigation.
And just in case that’s too wishy-washy for you, further down, in a section about Vivendi Games, it repeats the statement:
A comparison of the first quarters of 2007 and 2008 performances is not representative because the first quarter of 2007 included the hugely successful release of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. Blizzard Entertainment’s second expansion, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, is scheduled to be released in the second half of 2008. Consequently, Vivendi Games’ revenues for the first quarter of 2008 are 24.1% lower (-18.2% on a constant currency basis) when compared to the same period last year. Vivendi Games’ revenues was €221 million.
At least we know now that there’s a large chance we’ll see Lich King this year, though knowing Blizzard, I still wouldn’t be surprised if we had to wait a little bit longer 
Source: BigDownload.com
And so players anticipations get raised yet again! Seeing as those statements clearly state "anticipated" and "scheduled" even before beta testing has begun, I just read it as Vivendi are hoping that WotLK will be released before the end of the year. But we all know that Blizzard won’t be pushed to release before they’re ready, no matter who’s pushing for the release! Simply put, it’s out when it’s out and that’s when Blizzard says so!
Wasn’t TBC originally "scheduled" for second half of 2007? :p