| 
Gannett, Knight Ridder and Tribune Acquire Crossmedia Services
Partnership
to provide consumers online local shopping and sale
information from area retailers
CHICAGO,
McLEAN, VA. and SAN JOSE, CALIF., May 6, 2004 --
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Knight Ridder, Inc. (NYSE:
KRI) and Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB) today announced that
they have jointly acquired CrossMedia Services, Inc., a leading
provider of Web-based marketing solutions for national and
local retailers. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Through its award-winning SmartCircular
and SmartCatalog services, CrossMedia Services transforms
traditionally print-based retail promotions (such as sales
circulars, catalogs, run-of-press ads, direct mail, etc.)
into compelling search-based interactive formats. CrossMedia
Services’ clients include many
leading retailers.
"The Web has become a huge resource for
consumers who search online and then buy offline in their
favorite local stores," said Brian Hand, CrossMedia
Services chairman and chief executive officer. "Our
online solutions complement the way consumers use the daily
and Sunday newspapers to find ‘what’s on sale’ and
other great values in their local markets."
Today millions of consumers research
products online and then make purchases offline. Known
as cross-channel shoppers, this group often turns to online
catalogs and flyers for product information, availability
and cost. In 2003, cross-channel shoppers spent more than
$130 billion offline on Internet-influenced purchases.*
The average user of online catalogs and online flyers is
43 years old, and has an average household income of $61,878
- an ideal target for retailers.**
"Gannett, Knight Ridder and Tribune
newspapers are the preeminent retail media in the country,"
said Hand. "We
are excited to be part of a new venture that will bring retailers
innovative Web-based marketing solutions to extend the reach
and life of their print promotions."
Gannett, Knight Ridder and Tribune are partners
in other joint ventures to provide consumers access to great
online classified products such as CareerBuilder.com, Cars.com
and Apartments.com.
* "American Interactive Consumer Study,"
The Dieringer Research Group, September 2003
** "Do Online Flyers and Catalogs Work?" Forrester
Research, Inc., February 2004
::
:: :: CrossMedia
Services, Inc. provides turnkey solutions for brick & mortar
retailers, catalog retailers and industrial catalogers
that enable the targeting of promotions to shoppers via
the Internet. CrossMedia Services’ solutions transform
printed promotions (such as sales circulars, catalogs,
run-of-press ads, direct mail, etc.) into an interactive
Web format, versioned on variables such as location or
type of shopper. These solutions leverage the creative
layout in print promotions, incorporate feature rich functionality
and integrate with extensive analytics about shopper pre-purchase
behavior. Investors in CrossMedia Services include Gabriel
Venture Partners, River Cities Capital Funds and Trident
Capital.
Gannett Co., Inc. is a leading
international news and information company that publishes
101 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the
nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper.
The company also owns in excess of 500 non-daily publications
in the USA and USA WEEKEND, a weekly newspaper magazine.
Gannett subsidiary Newsquest is the United Kingdom’s
second largest regional newspaper company. Newsquest publishes
more than 300 titles, including 17 daily newspapers, and
a network of prize-winning Web sites. Gannett also operates
22 television stations in the United States and is an Internet
leader with sites sponsored by its TV stations and newspapers
including USATODAY.com, one of the most popular news sites
on the Web.
Knight Ridder (NYSE: KRI) is the nation’s second-largest
newspaper publisher, with products in print and online. The
company publishes 31 daily newspapers in 28 U.S. markets,
with a readership of 8.7 million daily and 12.6 million Sunday.
Knight Ridder also has investments in a variety of Internet
and technology companies and two newsprint companies. The
company's Internet operation, Knight Ridder Digital, develops
and manages the company’s online properties. It is
the founder and operator of Real Cities (www.RealCities.com),
the largest national network of city and regional Web sites
in more than 100 U.S. markets. Knight Ridder and Knight Ridder
Digital are headquartered in San Jose, Calif. TRIBUNE (NYSE: TRB) is one of
the country’s premier
media companies, operating businesses in broadcasting and
publishing. It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households
and is the only media organization with television stations,
newspapers and websites in the nation’s top three markets.
In publishing, Tribune operates 14 leading daily newspapers
including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsday
and Spanish-language Hoy, plus a wide range of targeted publications.
The company’s broadcasting group operates 26 television
stations; Superstation WGN on national cable; WGN-AM in Chicago;
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. |
