Media General Reports November Revenues
TO BUSINESS EDITOR:
RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG) today reported November 2003 total revenues of $72.4 million, an increase of 1.4 percent from total revenues of $71.4 million in November 2002. By operating segment, Publishing revenues increased 5.1 percent, Broadcast revenues declined 5.8 percent, and Interactive Media revenues were up 41.1 percent.
"We are pleased that advertising momentum continues to build in our Publishing business," said J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman and chief executive officer. "Total revenue and advertising revenue experienced the strongest monthly growth this year and were 5.1 percent and 6.2 percent above last year, respectively. This marks the sixth consecutive month of strong year-over-year growth. Broadcast gross time sales declined 5 percent, mostly due to the relative absence of political revenues this year. We believe December time sales will be up over last year," Bryan said.
In Publishing, classified revenue was above last year by $780,000, or 6.3 percent, the largest monthly increase in 2003. Although partially offset by automotive linage that was below last year by 2 percent, employment advertising continued to show improvement last month, up 19.9 percent from last year at the metro papers, as The Tampa Tribune reported a 13.9 percent increase in linage, the Richmond Times-Dispatch a nearly 37 percent increase, and the Winston-Salem Journal decreased 1.8 percent.
Retail revenue increased 0.2 percent, driven primarily by increases in Tampa and several community newspaper markets. Preprint revenue was up $835,000, or 10.4 percent, continuing a double-digit growth trend. Significant increases were seen in almost all markets.
National revenue exceeded last year by $560,000, or nearly 20 percent, with significant gains from The Tampa Tribune and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, reflecting strong financial and telecommunications advertising. Circulation revenue increased $205,000, or 3 percent.
The Broadcast Division reported a 2.8 percent increase in national times sales, with strength in the financial, services and telecommunications categories. Local time sales decreased 1.7 percent, reflecting declines in department stores, fast food, grocery stores and entertainment. Political revenues were $625,000 compared with $1.9 million last year, mostly for campaign spending in the Louisiana gubernatorial run-off, mayoral races in Savannah and Charleston, and issue spending in Florida.
In the Interactive Media Division, double-digit revenue growth was generated by continued strong national sales, steady classified advertising and special promotions.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties and should be understood in the context of the company's publicly available reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Media General's future performance could differ materially from its current expectations.
About Media General
Media General is an independent communications company situated primarily in the Southeast with interests in newspapers, television stations and interactive media. The company's publishing assets include The Tampa Tribune, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Winston-Salem Journal and 22 other daily newspapers in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina, as well as nearly 100 other periodicals and a 20 percent interest in The Denver Post. Media General's 26 network-affiliated television stations reach more than 30 percent of the television households in the Southeast and nearly 8 percent of those in the United States. The company's extensive interactive media offerings include more than 50 online enterprises. Media General also has a 33 percent interest in SP Newsprint Co., which operates newsprint mills in Dublin, Ga., and Newberg, Ore.
MEDIA GENERAL INC.
Revenues and Page Views
November
2003 2002 % Change
Revenues (000) $72,391 $71,372 1.4 %
Publishing 47,491 45,205 5.1 %
Broadcast 24,336 25,829 (5.8)%
Interactive Media 844 598 41.1 %
Eliminations (280) (260) (7.7)%
Discontinued operations 0 360 (100.0)%
Selected Publishing Revenues (000)
By Category
Advertising $39,635 $37,316 6.2 %
Classified 13,189 12,412 6.3 %
Retail 12,222 12,196 0.2 %
National 3,407 2,847 19.7 %
Preprints 8,842 8,006 10.4 %
Other 1,975 1,855 6.5 %
Circulation 7,020 6,815 3.0 %
By Property
Richmond 11,766 10,841 8.5 %
Tampa 15,145 14,267 6.2 %
Winston-Salem 4,661 4,751 (1.9)%
Community Newspapers 15,781 15,103 4.5 %
Advertising Revenues (Dailies) (000)
Richmond $9,136 $8,262 10.6 %
Tampa 13,831 12,966 6.7 %
Winston-Salem 3,869 3,925 (1.4)%
Community Newspapers 11,088 10,478 5.8 %
Broadcast Time Sales (gross) (000) $24,678 $25,972 (5.0)%
Local 15,283 15,553 (1.7)%
National 8,770 8,534 2.8 %
Political 625 1,885 (66.8)%
Selected Online Total Page Views
TBO.com 12,329,426 11,033,899 11.7 %
(Tampa, Fla.)
timesdispatch.com 4,675,361 5,560,591 (15.9)%
(Richmond, Va.)
JournalNow.com 2,500,919 2,408,631 3.8 %
(Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Notes: All data are subject to later adjustment.
MEDIA GENERAL INC.
Revenues and Page Views
Year-to-Date
2003 2002 % Change
Revenues (000) $770,400 $766,234 0.5 %
Publishing 500,118 485,721 3.0 %
Broadcast 263,626 276,726 (4.7)%
Interactive Media 8,954 5,553 61.2 %
Eliminations (2,298) (1,766) (30.1)%
Discontinued operations 3,854 4,858 (20.7)%
Selected Publishing Revenues (000)
By Category
Advertising $408,928 $394,834 3.6 %
Classified 159,437 155,321 2.6 %
Retail 122,202 123,941 (1.4)%
National 31,244 28,075 11.3 %
Preprints 75,893 68,977 10.0 %
Other 20,152 18,520 8.8 %
Circulation 80,472 79,695 1.0 %
By Property
Richmond 123,721 119,071 3.9 %
Tampa 156,409 149,895 4.3 %
Winston-Salem 49,203 48,927 0.6 %
Community Newspapers 169,068 166,019 1.8 %
Advertising Revenues (Dailies) (000)
Richmond $93,848 $89,219 5.2 %
Tampa 141,045 134,993 4.5 %
Winston-Salem 39,862 39,657 0.5 %
Community Newspapers 115,442 112,538 2.6 %
Broadcast Time Sales (gross) (000) $260,658 $274,562 (5.1)%
Local 159,763 150,032 6.5 %
National 94,446 92,654 1.9 %
Political 6,449 31,876 (79.8)%
Selected Online Total Page Views
TBO.com 148,524,809 136,238,525 9.0 %
(Tampa, Fla.)
timesdispatch.com 70,586,458 54,340,615 29.9 %
(Richmond, Va.)
JournalNow.com 27,870,426 25,457,666 9.5 %
(Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Notes: All data are subject to later adjustment.
MEDIA GENERAL
Daily Newspapers Advertising Linage*
November
2003 2002 % Change
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Retail 37,206 40,193 (7.4)%
National 13,595 11,247 20.9 %
Classified 69,936 64,178 9.0 %
Total 120,737 115,618 4.4 %
TAMPA TRIBUNE
Retail 47,900 49,335 (2.9)%
National 18,963 13,891 36.5 %
Classified 123,745 128,036 (3.4)%
Total 190,608 191,262 (0.3)%
WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL
Retail 40,773 45,030 (9.5)%
National 9,735 8,773 11.0 %
Classified 54,423 58,827 (7.5)%
Total 104,931 112,630 (6.8)%
COMMUNITY DAILIES
Retail 368,414 381,645 (3.5)%
National 31,063 24,581 26.4 %
Classified 398,445 377,777 5.5 %
Total 797,922 784,003 1.8 %
MEDIA GENERAL DAILIES TOTAL
Retail 494,293 516,203 (4.2)%
National 73,356 58,492 25.4 %
Classified 646,549 628,818 2.8 %
Total 1,214,198 1,203,513 0.9 %
* Advertising is in column inches - full run only.
MEDIA GENERAL
Daily Newspapers Advertising Linage*
Year-to-Date
2003 2002 % Change
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Retail 398,745 413,326 (3.5)%
National 130,320 109,946 18.5 %
Classified 831,861 763,717 8.9 %
Total 1,360,926 1,286,989 5.7 %
TAMPA TRIBUNE
Retail 474,215 485,812 (2.4)%
National 183,042 150,734 21.4 %
Classified 1,537,664 1,507,639 2.0 %
Total 2,194,921 2,144,185 2.4 %
WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL
Retail 409,924 441,634 (7.2)%
National 90,846 86,549 5.0 %
Classified 692,086 717,037 (3.5)%
Total 1,192,856 1,245,220 (4.2)%
COMMUNITY DAILIES
Retail 3,791,709 3,896,732 (2.7)%
National 315,171 279,790 12.6 %
Classified 4,792,715 4,433,703 8.1 %
Total 8,899,595 8,610,225 3.4 %
MEDIA GENERAL DAILIES TOTAL
Retail 5,074,593 5,237,504 (3.1)%
National 719,379 627,019 14.7 %
Classified 7,854,326 7,422,096 5.8 %
Total 13,648,298 13,286,619 2.7 %
* Advertising is in column inches - full run only.
SOURCE Media General, Inc.
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