Tribune Revenues Flat in February

Tribune Revenues Flat in February

Publishing Advertising Revenues Up 3.2%; Television Revenues Down 4.1%

CHICAGO, March 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 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.

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.

TRIBUNE COMPANY SUMMARY OF REVENUES (Unaudited) For Period 2 Ended February 27, 2005 (In thousands)

Period 2 (4 weeks) Year-to-Date (9 weeks) 2005 2004 % 2005 2004 % ---------- ---------- --- ---------- ---------- --- Publishing ---------- Advertising Retail $ 97,819 $ 94,902 3.1 $ 205,506 $ 198,462 3.5 National 66,273 64,448 2.8 146,137 142,507 2.5 Classified 89,821 86,689 3.6 190,973 183,037 4.3 ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- Sub-Total(A) 253,913 246,039 3.2 542,616 524,006 3.6 Circulation 46,774 51,086 (8.4) 105,118 114,253 (8.0) Other 20,649 19,813 4.2 44,597 42,320 5.4 ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- Segment Total 321,336 316,938 1.4 692,331 680,579 1.7 ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- Broadcasting & Entertainment -------------- Television 93,811 97,821 (4.1) 194,586 204,192 (4.7) Radio/Enter. 4,967 6,137 (19.1) 10,087 11,946 (15.6) ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- Segment Total 98,778 103,958 (5.0) 204,673 216,138 (5.3) ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- Consol. Rev. $ 420,114 $ 420,896 (0.2) $ 897,004 $ 896,717 - ========== ========== =========== ==========

(A)Publishing advertising revenues for 2004 have been reclassified to conform with the 2005 presentation. There was no effect on total revenues.

TRIBUNE COMPANY SUMMARY OF NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING VOLUME (Unaudited)(A) For Period 2 Ended February 27, 2005 (In thousands)

Period 2 (4 weeks) Year-to-Date (9 weeks) 2005 2004 % 2005 2004 % ---------- ---------- --- ---------- ---------- --- Full Run -------- L.A. Times 183 198 (8) 415 440 (6) Chicago Tribune 179 178 1 352 355 (1) Newsday 117 114 3 244 240 2 Other Dailies (B) 1,048 1,110 (6) 2,245 2,359 (5) ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total 1,527 1,600 (5) 3,256 3,394 (4) ========== ========== ========== ==========

Part Run -------- L.A. Times 405 475 (15) 899 992 (9) Chicago Tribune 543 504 8 1,125 1,012 11 Newsday 148 134 10 306 283 8 Other Dailies (B) 518 489 6 1,079 1,047 3 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total 1,614 1,602 1 3,409 3,334 2 ========== ========== ========== ==========

Total Advertising Inches ------------------------ Full Run Retail 452 447 1 959 946 1 National 331 326 2 701 700 - Classified 744 827 (10) 1,596 1,748 (9) ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Sub-Total 1,527 1,600 (5) 3,256 3,394 (4) Part Run 1,614 1,602 1 3,409 3,334 2 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total 3,141 3,202 (2) 6,665 6,728 (1) ========== ========== ========== ==========

Preprint Pieces --------------- L.A. Times 291,029 231,292 26 637,070 498,516 28 Chicago Tribune 351,417 291,859 20 717,913 622,463 15 Newsday 210,556 200,423 5 458,653 427,663 7 Other Dailies (B) 313,467 302,577 4 674,478 646,220 4 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total 1,166,469 1,026,151 14 2,488,114 2,194,862 13 ========== ========== ========== ==========

(A)Volume is based on preliminary internal data, which may be updated in subsequent reports. Advertising volume is presented only for daily newspapers.

(B)Other daily newspapers include The Baltimore Sun, South Florida Sun- Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, The Hartford Courant, The Morning Call, Daily Press, The Advocate, Greenwich Time, Hoy, New York, Hoy, Chicago and Hoy, Los Angeles.

Source: Tribune Company

CONTACT: Media, Gary Weitman, +1-312-222-3394, fax, +1-312-222-1573, gweitman@tribune.com , or Investor, Ruthellyn Musil, +1-312-222-3787, fax, +1-312-222-1573, rmusil@tribune.com , both of Tribune Company

Web site: http://www.tribune.com/

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