EX-99.2 3 v090534_ex99-2.htm Unassociated Document
 

Media General Inc., PO Box 85333, Richmond, VA 23293-0001 804/649-6748 www.mediageneral.com

LOGO

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Thursday, October 18, 2007

Media General Reports September 2007 Revenues

RICHMOND, Va. - Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG) today reported September 2007 total revenues of $73.7 million, a 7.3 percent decrease from September 2006. By business segment, Publishing Division total revenues decreased 7 percent, mostly reflecting continued weakness in Classified advertising; Broadcast Division total revenues decreased 9 percent, due to lower Political advertising in this off-election year; and Interactive Media Division total revenues rose 25.7 percent.

Publishing Division

Newspaper advertising revenues in September decreased $3.3 million, or 8.7 percent, with more
than 85 percent of the decline attributable to the Tampa market.

Classified advertising revenues decreased $2.6 million, or 15.7 percent. The majority of the reduction was due to weakness in the Tampa market, which was below last year by 35.3 percent. Classified revenues in the Richmond market increased 4.8 percent, due to higher real estate advertising as well as a nominal increase in automotive revenues, offset partially by lower help-wanted revenues. The Winston-Salem market saw a 3.5 percent reduction, as automotive advertising revenues were down, partially offset by higher employment and real estate revenues. The Community newspaper markets decreased 9.4 percent.

For the company’s three metro markets, real estate revenues were down 21.4 percent, employment revenues decreased 15.7 percent, and automotive revenues declined 20.2 percent.

Retail advertising revenues declined by $530,000, or 3.1 percent. The Tampa Tribune and its associated newspapers reported a 3.5 percent decrease, due to lower spending in the home improvement, home furnishings, grocery store and department store categories, partially offset by higher revenues from new product initiatives. The Richmond Times-Dispatch and its associated weekly newspapers saw a 9.4 percent revenue decline, as a result of decreases in department store, drug store and home improvement advertising. In Winston-Salem, Retail revenues declined
3.7 percent, reflecting lower spending in the home improvement and department store categories, partially offset by higher revenues from new products. The Community newspaper group generated a 1.4 percent increase in Retail advertising revenues, with growth in the North Carolina, Lynchburg and Alabama markets.

National revenues decreased $100,000, or 3.1 percent, due to a 14.8 percent decline at Tampa, the result of lower advertising in the media, travel and telecommunications categories. Conversely, the Richmond market generated an 11.1 percent increase, primarily the result of higher spending in the telecommunications and national automotive categories as well as increased advertising from three major oil companies. National revenues in Winston-Salem rose 17 percent, reflecting increased spending by travel and preprint advertisers and additional spending from a major oil company.

Circulation revenues were down $100,000, or 1.6 percent, as Daily and Sunday net-paid circulation declines for the month were partially offset by rate increases at the metro newspapers. Seven Media General newspapers generated increases in net-paid Daily Circulation, and eight did so for Sunday.

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Publishing   •   Broadcast   •   Interactive Media
Media General Inc., PO Box 85333, Richmond, VA 23293-0001 804/649-6748 www.mediageneral.com
 
 
Broadcast Division

In the Broadcast Division, gross time sales decreased $3.5 million, or 10.1 percent, due to lower Political spending in this off-election year. Political revenues of $1.4 million in the month, although stronger than anticipated, compared to $6.8 million last September and represented spending for Presidential candidates and image campaigns in the current year in Florida and South Carolina, gubernatorial and lieutenant governor races in Louisiana, Mississippi and Kentucky as well as issue advertising in Florida, Louisiana, Kentucky, South Carolina and Georgia.

Local time sales increased $635,000, or 3.5 percent, primarily due to higher spending in the automotive, department store and media categories, partially offset by lower furniture and fast food advertising.

National time sales rose $1.3 million, or 12.8 percent, as a result of higher spending in the telecommunications, corporate and furniture categories.

Interactive Media Division

Interactive Media Division revenues increased 25.7 percent, reflecting significantly higher revenues from the advergaming business, strong growth in National/Regional and Local advertising and revenues from the Yahoo!HotJobs employment initiative. Classified revenues rose 2 percent, with all markets exceeding last year except for Tampa. Revenues from the Yahoo!HotJobs initiative helped mitigate the overall softness in online Classified advertising.

Local online revenues grew 44.2 percent over 2006, primarily due to a continued focus on direct sales. National/Regional advertising increased 51.4 percent, reflecting higher spending from national agencies. Advergaming revenues more than doubled from last year. Page views were down slightly from last year, while visitor sessions increased 3.5 percent, excluding the new NBC station Web sites. These results reflected fewer weather-related events this year, which are leading traffic drivers.

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.

Investor Contact:
Media Contact:
Lou Anne J. Nabhan
Ray Kozakewicz
(804) 649-6103
(804) 649-6748

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Publishing   •   Broadcast   •   Interactive Media
Media General Inc., PO Box 85333, Richmond, VA 23293-0001 804/649-6748 www.mediageneral.com


MEDIA GENERAL, INC.
Revenues and Page Views

                   
 
  
September
      
Year-to-Date
      
 
  
2007
  
2006
  
% Change
  
2007
  
2006
  
% Change
  
 
                          
Revenues (000)
  
$
73,717
  
$
79,499
    
(7.3
)%
$
701,796
  
$
688,493
    
1.9
%
Publishing
    
41,322
    
44,433
    
(7.0
)%
  
407,655
    
439,928
    
(7.3
)%
Broadcast
    
30,006
    
32,989
    
(9.0
)%
  
272,317
    
233,176
    
16.8
%
Interactive Media
    
3,024
    
2,406
    
25.7
%
  
27,119
    
20,039
    
35.3
%
Eliminations
    
(635
)
  
(329
)
  
(93.0
)%
  
(5,295
)
  
(4,650
)
  
(13.9
)%
 
                                      
Discontinued Operations 1
    
—
    
3,632
    
—
    
—
    
30,513
    
—
  
 
                                      
 
                                      
Selected Publishing Revenues (000)
                                      
    By Category
                                      
Advertising
  
$
34,146
  
$
37,413
    
(8.7
)%
$
337,086
  
$
369,021
    
(8.7
)%
   Classified
    
13,873
    
16,465
    
(15.7
)%
  
142,005
    
167,995
    
(15.5
)%
   Retail
    
16,690
    
17,222
    
(3.1
)%
  
161,568
    
164,652
    
(1.9
)%
   National
    
2,995
    
3,090
    
(3.1
)%
  
28,810
    
30,768
    
(6.4
)%
   Other
    
588
    
636
    
(7.5
)%
  
4,703
    
5,606
    
(16.1
)%
Circulation
    
5,962
    
6,060
    
(1.6
)%
  
58,795
    
60,697
    
(3.1
)%
    By Property
                                      
Richmond
    
10,493
    
10,641
    
(1.4
)%
  
101,883
    
103,592
    
(1.6
)%
Tampa
    
11,575
    
14,149
    
(18.2
)%
  
120,978
    
146,147
    
(17.2
)%
Winston-Salem
    
4,103
    
4,202
    
(2.4
)%
  
37,815
    
39,943
    
(5.3
)%
Community Newspapers
    
14,893
    
15,237
    
(2.3
)%
  
145,257
    
148,659
    
(2.3
)%
 
                                      
 
                                      
Advertising Revenues (000)
                                      
Richmond
  
$
8,336
  
$
8,463
    
(1.5
)%
$
81,027
  
$
81,604
    
(0.7
)%
Tampa
    
9,991
    
12,900
    
(22.6
)%
  
105,060
    
132,501
    
(20.7
)%
Winston-Salem
    
3,260
    
3,373
    
(3.4
)%
  
29,857
    
31,972
    
(6.6
)%
Community Newspapers
    
12,308
    
12,481
    
(1.4
)%
  
119,609
    
121,438
    
(1.5
)%
 
                                      
 
                                      
Broadcast Time Sales (gross) (000)
  
$
31,482
  
$
35,028
    
(10.1
)%
$
282,882
  
$
238,653
    
18.5
%
Local
    
18,860
    
18,223
    
3.5
%
  
174,021
    
143,804
    
21.0
%
National
    
11,260
    
9,982
    
12.8
%
  
104,688
    
79,066
    
32.4
%
Political
    
1,362
    
6,823
    
(80.0
)%
  
4,173
    
15,783
    
(73.6
)%
 
                                      
 
                                      
Selected Online Total Page Views
                                      
Total Web Sites2
    
46,971,840
    
47,417,542
    
(0.9
)%
  
446,928,507
    
415,410,710
    
7.6
%
      (Excluding Game Sites)
                                      
TBO.com
   
18,603,977
    
19,810,362
    
(6.1
)%
  
169,585,889
    
156,794,121
    
8.2
%
     (Tampa, Fla.)
                                      
inRich/TimesDispatch.com
    
8,419,089
    
10,067,145
    
(16.4
)%
  
91,255,383
    
100,343,473
    
(9.1
)%
     (Richmond, Va.)
                                      
JournalNow.com
   
3,497,785
    
3,575,253
    
(2.2
)%
  
34,534,301
    
32,403,208
    
6.6
%
     (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.
2 Web site page views exclude four NBC sites purchased in 2006 that were previously hosted by a third party.
 
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Publishing   •   Broadcast   •   Interactive Media
Media General Inc., PO Box 85333, Richmond, VA 23293-0001 804/649-6748 www.mediageneral.com
 

Daily Newspapers Advertising Linage*

           
   
September
  
Year-to Date
  
 
  
2007
  
2006
  
% Change
  
2007
  
2006
  
% Change
  
Richmond Times-Dispatch
                          
Retail
    
26,583
    
29,986
    
(11.3
)%
  
270,357
    
282,149
    
(4.2
)%
National
    
8,439
    
8,103
    
4.1
%
  
83,755
    
84,588
    
(1.0
)%
Classified
    
68,732
    
62,936
    
9.2
%
  
626,906
    
649,073
    
(3.4
)%
Total
    
103,754
    
101,025
    
2.7
%
  
981,018
    
1,015,810
    
(3.4
)%
The Tampa Tribune
                                      
Retail
    
36,757
    
39,037
    
(5.8
)%
  
372,402
    
394,185
    
(5.5
)%
National
    
7,386
    
9,548
    
(22.6
)%
  
81,979
    
114,497
    
(28.4
)%
Classified
   
79,090
    
113,916
    
(30.6
)%
  
852,685
    
1,232,977
    
(30.8
)%
Total
    
123,233
    
162,501
    
(24.2
)%
  
1,307,066
    
1,741,659
    
(25.0
)%
Winston-Salem Journal
                                      
Retail
   
28,983
    
34,065
    
(14.9
)%
  
264,462
    
319,068
    
(17.1
)%
National
    
7,065
    
7,110
    
(0.6
)%
  
68,096
    
70,353
    
(3.2
)%
Classified
    
41,541
    
52,151
    
(20.3
)%
  
457,251
    
519,687
    
(12.0
)%
Total
    
77,589
    
93,326
    
(16.9
)%
  
789,809
    
909,108
    
(13.1
)%
Community Dailies
                                      
Retail
    
307,342
    
286,846
    
7.1
%
  
2,930,473
    
2,983,037
    
(1.8
)%
National
    
16,417
    
17,332
    
(5.3
)%
  
165,736
    
177,565
    
(6.7
)%
Classified
    
375,217
    
382,241
    
(1.8
)%
  
3,841,098
    
4,067,486
    
(5.6
)%
Total
    
698,976
    
686,419
    
1.8
%
  
6,937,307
    
7,228,088
    
(4.0
)%
Media General Dailies Total
                                      
Retail
    
399,665
    
389,934
    
2.5
%
  
3,837,694
    
3,978,439
    
(3.5
)%
National
    
39,307
    
42,093
    
(6.6
)%
  
399,566
    
447,003
    
(10.6
)%
Classified
    
564,580
    
611,244
    
(7.6
)%
  
5,777,940
    
6,469,223
    
(10.7
)%
Total
    
1,003,552
    
1,043,271
    
(3.8
)%
  
10,015,200
    
10,894,665
    
(8.1
)%
 
* Advertising is in column inches - full run only
 
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