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Tribune Revenues Flat in February
Publishing advertising
revenues up 3.2%
Television revenues down 4.1%
CHICAGO, March 16, 2005 --
Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB) today reported
its summary of revenues and newspaper advertising volume
for period 2, ended
Feb. 27, 2005. Consolidated revenues for the period were
$420 million, down 0.2 percent from last year’s $421
million.
Publishing revenues in February were
$321 million, 1.4 percent higher than last year’s
$317 million. Advertising revenues increased 3.2 percent
to $254 million, compared with $246 million in February 2004.
Total advertising inches were down 2 percent, while preprint
pieces increased 14 percent. Excluding New York, which implemented
lower ad rates as the result of the significant reduction
in reported circulation in September 2004, advertising revenues
were up 4.2 percent.
- Retail advertising revenues increased
3.1 percent due to strength in the general merchandise,
hardware/home improvement, food and drug, auto supply
and department store categories, partially offset by weakness
in the other retail and electronics categories. Preprint
revenues, which are principally included in retail,
were up 10 percent.
- National advertising revenues increased 2.8
percent as strength in the auto, financial, package goods
and telecom categories was partially offset by weakness
in the transportation, movies and media categories.
- Classified advertising revenues rose 3.6
percent due to gains in help wanted and real estate,
up 13 and 9 percent, respectively. Auto classified advertising
fell 8 percent. Interactive revenues, which are primarily
included in classified, were $14 million, up 49 percent,
due to strength in all categories.
Circulation revenues were down 8.4 percent primarily due
to declines at the Los Angeles Times and Newsday. Los Angeles
was impacted primarily by reductions in home delivery. Newsday
was affected by the significant reduction in reported circulation
in 2004. Excluding the Los Angeles Times and Newsday, circulation
revenues were down
4.5 percent.
Broadcasting and Entertainment group revenues in February
were down 5.0 percent to $99 million, compared with $104
million last year. Television revenues decreased 4.1 percent.
Weakness in autos, movies and telecom was partially offset
by increases in financial and education. Television revenue
was generally soft across most markets and New York, Los
Angeles, Chicago and Boston continue to be impacted by Local
People Meters; first quarter pacing is down in the mid-single
digits. Radio/entertainment revenues fell 19 percent due
in part to fewer syndicated shows being produced by Tribune
Entertainment Company.
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This press
release contains certain comments or forward-looking statements
that are based largely on the Company’s current expectations and are subject
to certain risks, trends and uncertainties. Such comments
and statements should be understood in the context of Tribune’s
publicly available reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the most
current annual 10-K report and quarterly 10-Q report, which
contain a discussion of various factors that may affect the
company’s business or financial results. These factors
could cause actual future performance to differ materially
from current expectations. Tribune Company is not responsible
for updating the information contained in this press release
beyond the published date, or for changes made to this document
by wire services or Internet service providers.
TRIBUNE (NYSE: TRB) is one of
the country’s top media
companies, operating businesses in publishing and broadcasting.
It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is
the only media organization with newspapers, television stations,
and websites in the nation’s top three markets. In
publishing, Tribune operates 11 leading daily newspapers
including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsday,
plus a wide range of targeted publications such as Spanish-language
Hoy. The company’s broadcasting group operates 26 television
stations, Superstation WGN on national cable, Chicago’s
WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Popular news and
information websites complement Tribune’s print and
broadcast properties and extend the company’s nationwide
audience.
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