EX-99.2 3 mg6357ex992.htm EXHIBIT 99.2

Exhibit 99.2

Media General Reports June Revenues

          RICHMOND, Va., July 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG) today reported June 2006 total revenues of $70.1 million, a 3.7 percent increase from June 2005. By business segment, Publishing Division total revenues increased 2.1 percent, Broadcast Division total revenues increased 5.4 percent, and Interactive Media Division total revenues rose 32.2 percent. Reported revenues for 2006 and 2005 do not include the revenues of the television stations and their associated Web sites that the company, as previously announced, holds for divestiture. These assets are reported as discontinued operations, as required by accounting rules.

          Newspaper advertising in June increased 2.8 percent over last year, reflecting continued growth in Classified and Retail advertising.

          Classified advertising revenues increased $735,000, or 4.4 percent. The growth was driven by the continued strength of real estate advertising at The Tampa Tribune, where total Classified revenues increased 9.6 percent. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported a 2.9 percent increase, while the Winston-Salem Journal saw a decrease of 8.3 percent, due mostly to lower spending in the automotive category. The Community newspaper group was up 3.5 percent in total for Classified advertising.

          Real estate linage increased 45.1 percent for the company’s three metropolitan newspapers, more than offsetting a 27.1 percent decrease in automotive linage that continued to reflect lower spending by automotive dealers. The significant growth in real estate linage was driven by a 77.2 percent increase at The Tampa Tribune, which continued to benefit from a strong new-housing market in the Tampa region. Both the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Winston-Salem Journal are also seeing a strong housing market, resulting in real estate advertising linage increases of 47.6 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively, at those newspapers. 

          Employment linage at the three metro newspapers decreased 5.9 percent overall. Help-wanted linage was up 2.2 percent at the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The Tampa Tribune and Winston-Salem Journal reported decreases of 19.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. The Tampa decrease reflected softness in help-wanted advertising in some of its auxiliary employment products.

          Retail revenues in June increased $410,000, or 2.5 percent, including revenues from new product offerings in many markets. The Tampa Tribune and Richmond Times-Dispatch each generated a 1.9 percent increase in Retail revenues, and the Winston-Salem Journal posted a 7.4 percent gain. The increases resulted mostly from higher spending in the home improvement, department store and financial categories as well as the addition of several new products, including Spanish-language weeklies in Tampa and Richmond. The Community newspaper group saw a 2.7 percent Retail growth, led by increases in the North Carolina and Central Virginia markets.


          National revenues decreased $125,000, or 3.5 percent. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported a 29.7 percent advance due to higher oil company and insurance advertising. The Richmond increase partially offset decreases of 14.4 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively, at The Tampa Tribune and the Winston-Salem Journal. Tampa experienced lower spending in the telecommunications and travel categories, while Winston-Salem had decreased automotive advertising.  

          Circulation revenues were down $245,000, or 3.9 percent. Approximately one-half of the decline was due to the continued roll-out of a change in wholesale rates to independent carriers at several newspapers. These rate changes, which were completed at all of the company’s newspapers at the end of June 2006, generated a dollar-for-dollar decrease in Circulation expense. Nine Media General newspapers posted increases in net-paid Daily Circulation, while overall volume decreased slightly.

          In the Broadcast Division, gross time sales increased $1.3 million, or 5.8 percent, reflecting strong Political advertising that more than offset lower Local and National advertising.

          Local time sales decreased $300,000, or 2.1 percent, and reflected lower spending in the automotive and financial categories, partially offset by increases in the fast food and telecommunications categories. 

          National time sales decreased $475,000, or 6.2 percent, mostly due to continued softness in the automotive and corporate categories, offset partially by increases in telecommunications advertising.

          Political revenues for the month were $2.2 million, compared with $160,000 last June, and were mostly derived from gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, and state and local races in Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia. 

          Interactive Media Division revenue growth reflected higher advertising in all categories, led by increases of 17.9 percent and 63.8 percent, respectively, in online Classifieds and National/Regional advertising. Help-wanted and real estate advertising growth was strong in June, and nearly all Media General Web sites generated significantly higher revenues. The National/Regional advertising increase was mostly due to expanded campaigns across multiple Web sites. Local revenues improved 13.8 percent and reflected new direct-sale products such as increased sponsorships. Page views and visitor sessions for the month rose 13 percent and 18 percent, respectively, including Media General’s game sites.

          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 currently include 30 network-affiliated television stations that reach more than 33 percent of the television households in the Southeast and more than 10 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

 

 

 

 

 

 

2006

 

2005

 

% Change

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues (000)

 

$

70,068

 

$

67,541

 

 

3.7%

 

Publishing

 

 

45,109

 

 

44,193

 

 

2.1%

 

Broadcast

 

 

23,374

 

 

22,171

 

 

5.4%

 

Interactive Media

 

 

2,041

 

 

1,544

 

 

32.2%

 

Eliminations

 

 

(456

)

 

(367

)

 

(24.3)%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discontinued Operations (1)

 

 

3,535

 

 

3,264

 

 

8.3%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selected Publishing Revenues (000)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Category

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advertising

 

$

37,967

 

$

36,949

 

 

2.8%

 

Classified

 

 

17,276

 

 

16,541

 

 

4.4%

 

Retail

 

 

16,758

 

 

16,347

 

 

2.5%

 

National

 

 

3,400

 

 

3,525

 

 

(3.5)%

 

Other

 

 

533

 

 

536

 

 

(0.6)%

 

Circulation

 

 

6,063

 

 

6,308

 

 

(3.9)%

 

By Property

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richmond

 

 

10,899

 

 

10,502

 

 

3.8%

 

Tampa

 

 

14,716

 

 

14,358

 

 

2.5%

 

Winston-Salem

 

 

4,104

 

 

4,127

 

 

(0.6)%

 

Community Newspapers

 

 

15,253

 

 

15,039

 

 

1.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advertising Revenues (000) (2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richmond

 

$

8,603

 

$

8,178

 

 

5.2%

 

Tampa

 

 

13,471

 

 

13,090

 

 

2.9%

 

Winston-Salem

 

 

3,263

 

 

3,334

 

 

(2.1)%

 

Community Newspapers

 

 

12,302

 

 

12,017

 

 

2.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Broadcast Time Sales (gross) (000)

 

$

23,239

 

$

21,965

 

 

5.8%

 

Local

 

 

13,871

 

 

14,172

 

 

(2.1)%

 

National

 

 

7,156

 

 

7,632

 

 

(6.2)%

 

Political

 

 

2,212

 

 

161

 

 

—  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selected Online Total Page Views

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TBO.com

 

 

20,417,959

 

 

20,121,559

 

 

1.5%

 

(Tampa, Fla.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TimesDispatch.com

 

 

9,802,226

 

 

8,668,467

 

 

13.1%

 

(Richmond, Va.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JournalNow.com

 

 

3,369,894

 

 

3,650,106

 

 

(7.7)%

(Winston-Salem, N.C.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:  All data are subject to later adjustment.

 

 

 

(1)  Revenues from certain broadcast television stations and their  associated Web sites that the company is divesting.

 

 

 

(2)  Amounts reflected included both daily and weekly newspapers.


MEDIA GENERAL INC.
Revenues and Page Views

 

 

 

 

Year-to-Date

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2006

 

2005

 

% Change

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues (000)

 

$

447,501

 

$

431,579

 

 

3.7%

 

Publishing

 

 

299,014

 

 

289,893

 

 

3.1%

 

Broadcast

 

 

138,931

 

 

134,507

 

 

3.3%

 

Interactive Media

 

 

12,716

 

 

9,423

 

 

34.9%

 

Eliminations

 

 

(3,160

)

 

(2,244

)

 

(40.8)%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discontinued Operations (1)

 

 

20,219

 

 

20,067

 

 

0.8%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selected Publishing Revenues (000)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Category

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advertising

 

$

250,580

 

$

239,864

 

 

4.5%

Classified

 

 

114,807

 

 

105,063

 

 

9.3%

Retail

 

 

111,164

 

 

108,617

 

 

2.3%

 

National

 

 

20,950

 

 

22,689

 

 

(7.7)%

 

Other

 

 

3,659

 

 

3,495

 

 

4.7%

 

Circulation

 

 

41,454

 

 

43,522

 

 

(4.8)%

 

By Property

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richmond

 

 

70,158

 

 

69,572

 

 

0.8%

 

Tampa

 

 

101,196

 

 

94,427

 

 

7.2%

 

Winston-Salem

 

 

26,793

 

 

26,678

 

 

0.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Community Newspapers

 

 

99,863

 

 

98,159

 

 

1.7%

 

Advertising Revenues (000) (2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richmond

 

$

55,169

 

$

53,832

 

 

2.5%

 

Tampa

 

 

91,609

 

 

84,768

 

 

8.1%

 

Winston-Salem

 

 

21,436

 

 

21,563

 

 

(0.6)%

 

Community Newspapers

 

 

80,234

 

 

78,221

 

 

2.6%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Broadcast Time Sales (gross) (000)

 

$

140,319

 

$

132,898

 

 

5.6%

 

Local

 

 

89,151

 

 

86,686

 

 

2.8%

 

National

 

 

46,886

 

 

45,447

 

 

3.2%

 

Political

 

 

4,282

 

 

765

 

 

—  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selected Online Total Page Views

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TBO.com

 

 

100,260,774

 

 

106,244,130

 

 

(5.6)%

 

(Tampa, Fla.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TimesDispatch.com

 

 

65,668,225

 

 

50,541,228

 

 

29.9%

 

(Richmond, Va.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JournalNow.com

 

 

21,923,432

 

 

21,241,403

 

 

3.2%

 

(Winston-Salem, N.C.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes:  All data are subject to later adjustment.

 

 

 

(1)  Revenues from certain broadcast television stations and their associated Web sites that the company is divesting.

 

 

 

(2)  Amounts reflected included both daily and weekly newspapers.


MEDIA GENERAL INC.
Daily Newspapers Advertising Linage*

 

 

June

 

 

 

 

 

 

2006

 

2005

 

% Change

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richmond Times-Dispatch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail

 

 

30,516

 

 

27,479

 

 

11.1%

 

National

 

 

9,837

 

 

8,742

 

 

12.5%

 

Classified

 

 

65,696

 

 

75,699

 

 

(13.2)%

 

Total

 

 

106,049

 

 

111,920

 

 

(5.2)%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tampa Tribune

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail

 

 

38,860

 

 

41,775

 

 

(7.0)%

 

National

 

 

12,541

 

 

13,722

 

 

(8.6)%

 

Classified

 

 

123,103

 

 

127,504

 

 

(3.5)%

 

Total

 

 

174,504

 

 

183,001

 

 

(4.6)%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winston-Salem Journal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail

 

 

33,623

 

 

34,909

 

 

(3.7)%

 

National

 

 

6,851

 

 

8,974

 

 

(23.7)%

 

Classified

 

 

54,504

 

 

58,638

 

 

(7.1)%

 

Total

 

 

94,978

 

 

102,521

 

 

(7.4)%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Community & Associates Dailies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail

 

 

319,957

 

 

296,727

 

 

7.8%

 

National

 

 

22,634

 

 

27,051

 

 

(16.3)%

 

Classified

 

 

427,197

 

 

415,478

 

 

2.8%

 

Total

 

 

769,788

 

 

739,256

 

 

4.1%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Media General Dailies Totals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail

 

 

422,956

 

 

400,890

 

 

5.5%

 

National

 

 

51,863

 

 

58,489

 

 

(11.3)%

 

Classified

 

 

670,500

 

 

677,319

 

 

(1.0)%

 

Total

 

 

1,145,319

 

 

1,136,698

 

 

0.8%

 

 

 

 

 

 

*

Advertising is in column inches - full run only


MEDIA GENERAL INC.
Daily Newspapers Advertising Linage*

 

 

Year-to-Date

 

 

 

 

 

 

2006

 

2005

 

% Change

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richmond Times-Dispatch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail

 

 

191,751

 

 

189,699

 

 

1.1%

 

National

 

 

59,258

 

 

64,143

 

 

(7.6)%

 

Classified

 

 

440,100

 

 

471,439

 

 

(6.6)%

 

Total

 

 

691,109

 

 

725,281

 

 

(4.7)%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tampa Tribune

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail

 

 

272,145

 

 

275,838

 

 

(1.3)%

 

National

 

 

80,189

 

 

91,716

 

 

(12.6)%

 

Classified

 

 

859,498

 

 

834,321

 

 

3.0%

 

Total

 

 

1,211,832

 

 

1,201,875

 

 

0.8%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winston-Salem Journal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail

 

 

220,079

 

 

218,426

 

 

0.8%

 

National

 

 

49,179

 

 

54,336

 

 

(9.5)%

 

Classified

 

 

347,942

 

 

377,022

 

 

(7.7)%

 

Total

 

 

617,200

 

 

649,784

 

 

(5.0)%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Community & Associates Dailies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail

 

 

2,042,828

 

 

1,954,035

 

 

4.5%

 

National

 

 

123,823

 

 

175,740

 

 

(29.5)%

 

Classified

 

 

2,721,332

 

 

2,698,856

 

 

0.8%

 

Total

 

 

4,887,983

 

 

4,828,631

 

 

1.2%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Media General Dailies Totals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail

 

 

2,726,803

 

 

2,637,998

 

 

3.4%

 

National

 

 

312,449

 

 

385,935

 

 

(19.0)%

 

Classified

 

 

4,368,872

 

 

4,381,638

 

 

(0.3)%

 

Total

 

 

7,408,124

 

 

7,405,571

 

 

0.0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

*

Advertising is in column inches - full run only

SOURCE  Media General, Inc.
          -0-                                                                       07/13/2006
          /CONTACT:  Investors: Lou Anne J. Nabhan, +1-804-649-6103, or Media: Ray Kozakewicz, +1-804-649-6748,
both of Media General, Inc./
          /First Call Analyst: /
          /FCMN Contact: etucker@mediageneral.com /
          /Web site:  http://www.mediageneral.com/
          (MEG)

CO:

Media General, Inc.

ST:

Virginia

IN:

PUB TVN ADV ENT

SU: