Scripps Provides Financial Outlook at Mid-Year Media Review Conference

Scripps Provides Financial Outlook at Mid-Year Media Review Conference

CINCINNATI, June 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The E. W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP) tomorrow will provide financial projections for the second half of 2005 during its presentation at the annual Mid-Year Media Review investor conference in New York City.

The following projections, by operating division, will be made by Joseph G. NeCastro, senior vice president and chief financial officer:

Scripps Networks

Advertising revenue from the company's portfolio of national cable television networks is expected to be up between 23 and 28 percent. The company attributed the expected increase to the strength of its television network brands and the targeted nature of its lifestyle networks. Scripps Networks includes Home & Garden Television, Food Network, Great American Country (GAC), DIY Network and Fine Living.

During the second half of 2004 the company recorded about $8 million in one-time favorable adjustments to affiliate fee revenue. Excluding these adjustments, revenue from affiliate fees paid by cable and satellite television operators to carry the company's networks is expected to be up about 16 to 18 percent. On a reported basis, affiliate fee revenue is expected to be up 5 to 7 percent in the second half of this year. The increase in affiliate fee revenue is a result of increased distribution for DIY Network and Fine Living and higher rates paid for all five of the company's networks.

Employee costs are expected to increase 10 percent and programming and all other expenses are projected to be up about 20 percent. The company will continue to invest in quality original programming and consumer marketing to build awareness and attract more viewers.

Newspapers

Advertising revenue from the company's daily newspapers is expected to be up 5 to 7 percent as a result of solid growth in classified advertising, especially help wanted. Some of the projected growth in newspaper advertising revenue this year is related to the negative effect of last year's hurricanes on ad revenues at our Florida newspapers in the second half of 2004.

On the expense side, newspaper employee costs are expected to be up 4 to 5 percent, newsprint costs are expected to be up 10 to 13 percent and other cash expenses will rise by 3 to 4 percent.

Broadcast Television

A record amount of political advertising revenue during the second half of last year will cause very difficult comparisons through November. Local and national advertising sales are expected to be up 8 to 9 percent. But the relative absence of approximately $30 million in political generated last year will cause total revenues to be 10 percent below last year.

On the expense side, total costs are expected to be about even with the year-ago period.

Shop At Home

The transition plan at the company's TV retailing business is underway. The company still expects Shop at Home will record a segment loss of $15 million to $20 million for the full year.

Shopzilla

The company expects to complete the acquisition of this Internet-based comparison shopping service in the next few weeks. The transaction will be slightly dilutive to earnings this year and expected to be accretive to earnings in 2006.

Other items

Capital expenditures in 2005 are projected to be $80 million to $85 million, $25 million to $30 million less than originally forecast due to a slight delay in the start of a project to add capacity to our Naples, Fla., newspaper operation.

The company had planned to begin expensing stock options in the second half of this year in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) requirements. FASB has deferred the effective date to January 2006, and as a result, the company will also delay its plan to expense options granted to employees until next year.

The company has also initiated share repurchases under a Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. It expects to repurchase, at a minimum, enough shares to offset ongoing dilution from the company's executive compensation programs. The company currently has an authorization to repurchase up to 5 million Class A Common Shares.

Webcast

The Scripps presentation at the Mid-Year Media Review is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 21, and will be Webcast live via the company's Web site at www.scripps.com. The conference is being held at The McGraw Hill Building in New York. An audio archive will be available via the Scripps Web site within 24 hours after the presentation.

Forward looking statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements related to the company's businesses that are based on management's current expectations. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, including changes in advertising demand and other economic conditions that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. The company's written policy on forward-looking statements can be found on page F-5 of its 2004 SEC Form 10K.

We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events for circumstances after the date the statement is made.

About Scripps

Scripps is a diverse media concern with interests in national lifestyle television networks, newspaper publishing, broadcast television, television retailing, interactive media and licensing and syndication. All of the company's media businesses provide content and advertising services via the Internet.

Scripps is organized into the following operating divisions.

Scripps Networks, including the company's growing portfolio of popular lifestyle television networks. Scripps Networks brands include Home & Garden Television, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living, Great American Country (GAC) and HGTVPro. Scripps Networks Web sites include FoodNetwork.com, HGTV.com, DIYnetwork.com, fineliving.com and gactv.com. Scripps Networks programming can be seen in 86 countries.

Scripps Newspapers, including daily and community newspapers in 19 markets and the Washington-based Scripps Media Center, home to the Scripps Howard News Service. Scripps newspapers include the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, the Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel and the Ventura County (Calif.) Star.

Scripps Television Station Group, including six ABC-affiliated stations, three NBC affiliates and one independent. Scripps operates broadcast television stations in Detroit; Cleveland; Cincinnati; Phoenix; Tampa; Baltimore; Kansas City, Mo.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Tulsa, Okla.; and Lawrence, Kan.

Shop at Home, the company's television retailing subsidiary, which markets a growing range of consumer goods directly to television viewers and visitors to the Shop at Home Web site, shopathometv.com. Shop at Home reaches about 53 million full-time equivalent U.S. households, including 5 million households via five Scripps-owned Shop at Home affiliated television stations.

United Media, a leading licensing and syndication company. United Media is the worldwide licensing and syndication home of Peanuts, Dilbert and about 150 other features and characters.

Source: The E. W. Scripps Company

CONTACT: Tim Stautberg, The E. W. Scripps Company, +1-513-977-3826, or stautberg@scripps.com

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

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