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Tribune Revenues Down 3.9% in November
Publishing
advertising revenues down 2.4%
Television
revenues down 8.6%
CHICAGO,
December 2, 2005 -- Tribune Company
(NYSE: TRB) today reported its summary of revenues and newspaper
advertising volume for period 11, ended
Nov. 20, 2005. Consolidated revenues for the period were
$437 million, down
3.9 percent from last year’s $455 million.
Publishing revenues in November were
$330 million compared to last year’s
$339 million; Hurricane Wilma in South Florida accounted
for about $4 million of the decline. Advertising revenues
decreased 2.4 percent to $263 million, compared with
$269 million in November 2004.
- Retail advertising revenues decreased 3.3 percent
as weakness in the furniture/home furnishings, department
store and electronics categories were partially offset
by increases in the hardware/home improvement and personal
services categories. Preprint revenues, which are principally
included in retail, were down 2.7 percent, due entirely
to volume declines at Newsday.
- National advertising revenues declined 6.0 percent,
due in large part to a soft period at the Los Angeles Times.
Declines in the wireless, auto and technology categories
were partially offset by gains in the financial and health
care categories.
- Classified advertising revenues
rose 1.6 percent due to gains in help wanted and real estate,
which rose 8 percent and 15 percent, respectively. Automotive
classified advertising fell 18 percent. Interactive revenues,
which are primarily included in classified, were $15 million,
up 36 percent, due to strength in all categories.
Circulation revenues were down 5.1 percent
primarily due to volume declines at most of the company’s
newspapers, selectively higher discounting and hurricane
impact.
Broadcasting and entertainment group revenues
in November decreased 7.7 percent to $107 million, compared
with $116 million last year. Television revenues declined
8.6 percent as advertising revenue remains soft in most
markets. Weakness in the automotive, retail and telecom categories
was partially offset by increases in education and professional
services. Radio/entertainment revenues were up 7.6 percent
due to increases at the Chicago Cubs.
Media Week Conferences
Dennis FitzSimons, Tribune chairman, president and chief
executive officer; Scott Smith, Tribune Publishing president;
and John Reardon, Tribune Broadcasting president will present
at the UBS and Credit Suisse First Boston Media Week conferences
in New York City on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Grand Hyatt
at 9:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. CT, 6:00 a.m. PT) and at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel at 11:15 a.m. ET (10:15 a.m. CT, 8:15 a.m. PT).
Live webcasts of the presentations will
be available through Tribune Company’s website, www.tribune.com.
Archives of the webcasts will be available for four weeks.
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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. The Company's
next 10-Q report to be filed with the SEC may contain updates
to the information included in this release.
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. |
