Media General Reports June 2007 Revenues

Media General Reports June 2007 Revenues

RICHMOND, Va., July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Media General, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) today reported June 2007 total revenues of $72.5 million, a 3.4 percent increase from June 2006, including the revenues of four NBC television stations acquired June 26, 2006. Excluding the new stations, total revenues declined 7.5 percent. By business segment, Publishing Division total revenues decreased 10.1 percent. Broadcast Division total revenues increased 24.8 percent, including the new stations, and decreased 7.8 percent, excluding the new stations. Interactive Media Division total revenues rose 58.9 percent.

Publishing Division

Newspaper advertising revenues in June declined $4.4 million, or 11.7 percent, reflecting lower spending in all advertising categories, most notably Classified advertising at The Tampa Tribune, which was down 37.7 percent.

Total Classified advertising revenues decreased $3 million, or 17.5 percent. The Richmond Times-Dispatch and Winston Salem-Journal reported declines of 2.3 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively. The Community newspapers were down 6.4 percent.

Employment linage at the company's three metro newspapers decreased 28.5 percent. This included declines of 50.1 percent at The Tampa Tribune, 14.9 percent at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and 31.1 percent at the Winston-Salem Journal.

Automotive linage for the three metros decreased 17.2 percent. The Richmond Times-Dispatch generated a 4.2 percent increase due to new advertising incentives, while The Tampa Tribune and Winston-Salem Journal reported declines of 17.1 percent and 39.9 percent, respectively.

Real estate linage for the three metros was down 36.8 percent. The Richmond Times-Dispatch saw a 3.9 percent decrease, while The Tampa Tribune experienced a 68 percent decrease and the Winston-Salem Journal was down 13.2 percent.

Retail advertising revenues in June decreased $1 million, or 6 percent. The Tampa Tribune and its associated newspapers experienced a decline of 12.6 percent, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported a 3 percent decrease and the Winston-Salem Journal posted a 17.6 percent decline. The decreases at the three metros reflected lower home improvement, furniture store, department store, medical, office supply and financial advertising. The Community newspaper group was up 1.3 percent, reflecting increases in the Alabama and Northern Virginia markets.

National revenues decreased $300,000, or 8.9 percent. The Tampa Tribune and its associated newspapers saw a decrease of 9.8 percent, due to lower financial, automotive and travel advertising. The Richmond Times-Dispatch decreased 17.4 percent, due to lower telecommunications advertising and a major ad campaign by an advertiser last year that was not repeated. The Winston-Salem Journal generated an 11.3 increase, due to higher medical spending.

While Circulation revenues declined $290,000, or 4.8 percent, approximately 60 percent of the decrease was the result of a change in wholesale rates to carriers for which there is a corresponding expense decrease. Excluding this impact, Circulation revenues declined 1.9 percent.

Broadcast Division

In the Broadcast Division, gross time sales increased $6.7 million, or 28.8 percent, including the new stations. Same-station time sales decreased 7.5 percent, entirely due to lower Political spending in this off-election year. Excluding Political, Local and National time sales increased 1.2 percent. In most markets, Local and National transactional time sales remained soft, particularly at a number of NBC-affiliated stations, including Tampa.

Local time sales increased $4.9 million, or 35.6 percent, including the new stations. Same-station Local time sales declined 1.4 percent, mostly due to lower spending in the furniture and fast food categories, partially offset by higher automotive and transportation advertising.

National time sales increased $3.6 million, or 50.6 percent, including the new stations. Same-station National time sales rose 6.2 percent, as a result of higher spending in the corporate, services, and furniture categories.

Political revenues of $340,000 compared to $2.2 million last June, and represented early campaign spending from gubernatorial and lieutenant governor races in Louisiana and Mississippi and issue advertising in Ohio, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

Interactive Media Division

Interactive Media Division revenues increased 58.9 percent, including the new NBC station Web sites, and higher sales from the division's Blockdot advergaming business. Page views and visitor sessions increased 20.6 percent and 26.5 percent, respectively, including the new NBC station Web sites. Sluggish Classified advertising spending continued in most markets, particularly Tampa, and online Classified revenues were down 5.6 percent. Local revenues increased 66 percent over last year, reflecting increased direct sales. National/Regional advertising more than doubled as a result of higher spending from national networks, particularly in the automotive and telecommunications categories at TBO.com in Tampa. The launch of the Yahoo!HotJobs Phase A initiative was completed in June at all Media General newspaper Web sites. Phase B, featuring new products and capabilities, was launched at TBO.com on June 20.

About Media General

Media General is a multimedia company operating leading newspapers, television stations and online enterprises primarily in the Southeastern United States. The company's publishing assets include three metropolitan newspapers, The Tampa Tribune, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Winston-Salem Journal; 22 daily community newspapers in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina; and more than 150 weekly newspapers and other publications. The company's broadcasting assets include 23 network-affiliated television stations that reach more than 32 percent of the television households in the Southeast and nearly 9.5 percent of those in the United States. The company's interactive media assets include more than 75 online enterprises that are associated with its newspapers and television stations. Media General also owns a 33 percent interest in SP Newsprint Company, a manufacturer of recycled newsprint.

                               MEDIA GENERAL INC.                            Revenues and Page Views                                                            June                                              2007         2006    % Change    Revenues (000)                            $72,460      $70,068     3.4 %          Publishing                          40,546       45,109   (10.1)%          Broadcast                           29,178       23,374    24.8 %          Interactive Media                    3,244        2,041    58.9 %          Eliminations                          (508)        (456)  (11.4)%           Discontinued Operations(1)               -        3,535       ---     Selected Publishing Revenues (000)       By Category          Advertising                        $33,543      $37,967   (11.7)%             Classified                       14,245       17,276   (17.5)%             Retail                           15,749       16,758    (6.0)%             National                          3,097        3,400    (8.9)%             Other                               452          533   (15.2)%          Circulation                          5,775        6,063    (4.8)%       By Property          Richmond                            10,325       10,899    (5.3)%          Tampa                               11,404       14,716   (22.5)%          Winston-Salem                        3,728        4,104    (9.2)%          Community Newspapers                14,924       15,253    (2.2)%     Advertising Revenues (000)          Richmond                            $8,249       $8,603    (4.1)%          Tampa                                9,876       13,471   (26.7)%          Winston-Salem                        2,836        3,263   (13.1)%          Community Newspapers                12,422       12,495    (0.6)%     Broadcast Time Sales (gross) (000)        $29,924      $23,238    28.8 %          Local                               18,811       13,870    35.6 %          National                            10,774        7,156    50.6 %          Political                              339        2,212   (84.7)%     Selected Online Total Page Views          Total Web Sites                 52,276,345   43,353,875    20.6 %                (Excluding Game Sites)          TBO.com                         17,959,735   18,380,495    (2.3)%               (Tampa, Fla.)          inRich/TimesDispatch.com         8,833,208    9,592,911    (7.9)%               (Richmond, Va.)          JournalNow.com                   3,037,999    3,004,204     1.1 %            (Winston-Salem, N.C.)     Notes:  All data are subject to later adjustment.   (1) Revenues from certain broadcast and interactive media operations that       the Company divested in 2006.                                  MEDIA GENERAL INC.                            Revenues and Page Views                                                        Year-to-Date                                              2007         2006     % Change    Revenues (000)                             $471,542     $447,501    5.4 %          Publishing                           276,123      299,014   (7.7)%          Broadcast                            181,373      138,931   30.5 %          Interactive Media                     17,457       12,716   37.3 %          Eliminations                          (3,411)      (3,160)  (7.9)%           Discontinued Operations(1)                 -       20,219      ---     Selected Publishing Revenues (000)       By Category          Advertising                         $228,475     $250,580   (8.8)%             Classified                         97,357      114,807  (15.2)%             Retail                            108,309      111,164   (2.6)%             National                           19,778       20,950   (5.6)%             Other                               3,031        3,659  (17.2)%          Circulation                           39,686       41,454   (4.3)%       By Property          Richmond                              68,372       70,158   (2.5)%          Tampa                                 84,175      101,196  (16.8)%          Winston-Salem                         25,399       26,793   (5.2)%          Community Newspapers                  97,186       99,863   (2.7)%     Advertising Revenues (000)          Richmond                             $54,513      $55,169   (1.2)%          Tampa                                 73,236       91,609  (20.1)%          Winston-Salem                         20,013       21,436   (6.6)%          Community Newspapers                  79,813       81,404   (2.0)%     Broadcast Time Sales (gross) (000)         $188,520     $140,319   34.4 %          Local                                117,614       89,151   31.9 %          National                              69,194       46,886   47.6 %          Political                              1,712        4,282  (60.0)%     Selected Online Total Page Views          Total Web Sites                  345,248,520  271,814,250   27.0 %                (Excluding Game Sites)          TBO.com                          106,656,784   98,352,844    8.4 %               (Tampa, Fla.)          inRich/TimesDispatch.com          63,546,116   68,370,435   (7.1)%               (Richmond, Va.)          JournalNow.com                    22,779,676   21,800,608    4.5 %            (Winston-Salem, N.C.)     Notes:  All data are subject to later adjustment.   (1) Revenues from certain broadcast and interactive media operations that       the Company divested in 2006.                                   MEDIA GENERAL, INC.                      Daily Newspapers Advertising Linage*                                                            June                                              2007         2006     % Change   Richmond Times-Dispatch       Retail                                26,756       30,516    (12.3)%       National                               8,147        9,837    (17.2)%       Classified                            64,948       65,696     (1.1)%           Total                             99,851      106,049     (5.8)%   Tampa Tribune       Retail                                32,415       38,860    (16.6)%       National                               9,092       12,541    (27.5)%       Classified                            86,459      123,103    (29.8)%           Total                            127,966      174,504    (26.7)%   Winston-Salem Journal       Retail                                22,954       33,623    (31.7)%       National                               7,988        6,851     16.6 %       Classified                            48,543       54,504    (10.9)%           Total                             79,485       94,978    (16.3)%   Community Dailies       Retail                               303,452      319,957     (5.2)%       National                              16,054       22,634    (29.1)%       Classified                           417,340      427,197     (2.3)%           Total                            736,846      769,788     (4.3)%   Media General Dailies Total       Retail                               385,577      422,956     (8.8)%       National                              41,281       51,863    (20.4)%       Classified                           617,290      670,500     (7.9)%           Total                          1,044,148    1,145,319     (8.8)%    *  Advertising is in column inches - full run only                                  MEDIA GENERAL, INC.                      Daily Newspapers Advertising Linage*                                                        Year-to-Date                                              2007         2006     % Change   Richmond Times-Dispatch       Retail                                182,251      191,751     (5.0)%       National                               55,435       59,258     (6.5)%       Classified                            413,416      440,100     (6.1)%           Total                             651,102      691,109     (5.8)%   Tampa Tribune       Retail                                260,837      272,145     (4.2)%       National                               58,534       80,189    (27.0)%       Classified                            584,454      859,498    (32.0)%           Total                             903,825    1,211,832    (25.4)%   Winston-Salem Journal       Retail                                177,984      220,079    (19.1)%       National                               46,656       49,179     (5.1)%       Classified                            301,045      347,942    (13.5)%           Total                             525,685      617,200    (14.8)%   Community Dailies       Retail                              1,963,858    2,042,828     (3.9)%       National                              115,287      123,823     (6.9)%       Classified                          2,566,975    2,721,332     (5.7)%           Total                           4,646,120    4,887,983     (4.9)%   Media General Dailies Total       Retail                              2,584,930    2,726,803     (5.2)%       National                              275,912      312,449    (11.7)%       Classified                          3,865,890    4,368,872    (11.5)%           Total                           6,726,732    7,408,124     (9.2)%    *  Advertising is in column inches - full run only  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Media General Inc.

CONTACT: Investors, Lou Anne J. Nabhan, +1-804-649-6103, or Media, Ray
Kozakewicz, +1-804-649-6748, both of Media General Inc.

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

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Profile: International Entertainment