Tribune Revenues Down 3.9% in November

Tribune Revenues Down 3.9% in November

Publishing Advertising Revenues Down 2.4%; Television Revenues Down 8.6%

CHICAGO, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) today reported its summary of revenues and newspaper advertising volume for period 11, ended Nov. 20, 2005. Consolidated revenues for the period were $437 million, down 3.9 percent from last year's $455 million.

Publishing revenues in November were $330 million compared to last year's $339 million; Hurricane Wilma in South Florida accounted for about $4 million of the decline. Advertising revenues decreased 2.4 percent to $263 million, compared with $269 million in November 2004.

-- Retail advertising revenues decreased 3.3 percent as weakness in the
furniture/home furnishings, department store, and electronics
categories were partially offset by increases in the hardware/home
improvement and personal services categories. Preprint revenues,
which are principally included in retail, were down 2.7 percent, due
entirely to volume declines at Newsday.
-- National advertising revenues declined 6.0 percent, due in large part
to a soft period at the Los Angeles Times. Declines in the wireless,
auto, and technology categories were partially offset by gains in the
financial and health care categories.
-- Classified advertising revenues rose 1.6 percent due to gains in help
wanted and real estate, which rose 8 percent and 15 percent,
respectively. Automotive classified advertising fell 18 percent.
Interactive revenues, which are primarily included in classified, were
$15 million, up 36 percent, due to strength in all categories.

Circulation revenues were down 5.1 percent primarily due to volume declines at most of the company's newspapers, selectively higher discounting and hurricane impact.

Broadcasting and entertainment group revenues in November decreased 7.7 percent to $107 million, compared with $116 million last year. Television revenues declined 8.6 percent as advertising revenue remains soft in most markets. Weakness in the automotive, retail and telecom categories was partially offset by increases in education and professional services. Radio/entertainment revenues were up 7.6 percent due to increases at the Chicago Cubs.

Media Week Conferences

Dennis FitzSimons, Tribune chairman, president and chief executive officer; Scott Smith, Tribune Publishing president; and John Reardon, Tribune Broadcasting president will present at the UBS and Credit Suisse First Boston Media Week conferences in New York City on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Grand Hyatt at 9:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. CT, 6:00 a.m. PT) and at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 11:15 a.m. ET (10:15 a.m. CT, 8:15 a.m. PT).

Live webcasts of the presentations will be available through Tribune Company's website, http://www.tribune.com/ . Archives of the webcasts will be available for four weeks.

This press release contains certain comments or forward-looking statements that are based largely on the Company's current expectations and are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties. Such comments and statements should be understood in the context of Tribune's publicly available reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the most current annual 10-K report and quarterly 10-Q report, which contain a discussion of various factors that may affect the company's business or financial results. These factors could cause actual future performance to differ materially from current expectations. Tribune Company is not responsible for updating the information contained in this press release beyond the published date, or for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet service providers. The Company's next 10-Q report to be filed with the SEC may contain updates to the information included in this release.

TRIBUNE (NYSE:TRB) is one of the country's top media companies, operating businesses in publishing and broadcasting. It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is the only media organization with newspapers, television stations and websites in the nation's top three markets. In publishing, Tribune operates 11 leading daily newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsday, plus a wide range of targeted publications such as Spanish-language Hoy. The company's broadcasting group operates 26 television stations, Superstation WGN on national cable, Chicago's WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Popular news and information websites complement Tribune's print and broadcast properties and extend the company's nationwide audience.

TRIBUNE COMPANY
SUMMARY OF REVENUES (Unaudited)
For Period 11 Ended November 20, 2005
(In thousands)

Period 11 (4 weeks) Year-to-Date (47 weeks)
2005 2004 % 2005 2004 %
---------- ---------- --- ----------- ---------- ---
Publishing
----------
Advertising
Retail $ 111,140 $ 114,903 (3.3) $ 1,157,331 $ 1,155,536 0.2
National 63,305 67,380 (6.0) 692,518 712,260 (2.8)
Classified 88,205 86,808 1.6 1,061,026 1,011,689 4.9
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Sub-Total 262,650 269,091 (2.4) 2,910,875 2,879,485 1.1
Circulation 45,778 48,243 (5.1) 539,745 585,468 (7.8)
Other 21,112 21,208 (0.5) 233,216 233,716 (0.2)
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Segment
Total(A) 329,540 338,542 (2.7) 3,683,836 3,698,669 (0.4)
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Broadcasting &
Entertainment
--------------
Television 100,166 109,604 (8.6) 1,130,235 1,220,235 (7.4)
Radio/Enter. 7,113 6,609 7.6 242,556 233,118 4.0
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Segment Total 107,279 116,213 (7.7) 1,372,791 1,453,353 (5.5)
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Consol. Rev. $ 436,819 $ 454,755 (3.9) $ 5,056,627 $ 5,152,022 (1.9)
========== ========== =========== ==========

(A) Publishing advertising and other revenues for 2004 have been
reclassified to conform with the 2005 presentation. There was no
effect on total revenues.

TRIBUNE COMPANY
SUMMARY OF NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING VOLUME (Unaudited)(A)
For Period 11 Ended November 20, 2005
(In thousands)

Period 11 (4 weeks) Year-to-Date (47 weeks)
2005 2004 % 2005 2004 %
---------- ---------- --- ---------- ---------- ---
Full Run
--------
L.A. Times 182 200 (9.0) 1,990 2,168 (8.2)
Chicago Tribune 199 179 11.2 1,918 1,949 (1.6)
Newsday 119 124 (4.0) 1,385 1,413 (2.0)
Other Dailies (B) 1,114 1,151 (3.2) 12,476 12,873 (3.1)
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Total 1,614 1,654 (2.4) 17,769 18,403 (3.4)
========== ========== =========== ==========

Part Run
--------
L.A. Times 399 479 (16.7) 4,859 5,383 (9.7)
Chicago Tribune 497 540 (8.0) 5,957 5,922 0.6
Newsday 167 168 (0.6) 1,878 1,756 6.9
Other Dailies (B) 485 538 (9.9) 5,669 5,661 0.1
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Total 1,548 1,725 (10.3) 18,363 18,722 (1.9)
========== ========== =========== ==========

Total Advertising Inches
------------------------
Full Run
Retail 493 542 (9.0) 5,207 5,380 (3.2)
National 329 339 (2.9) 3,373 3,565 (5.4)
Classified 792 773 2.5 9,189 9,458 (2.8)
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Sub-Total 1,614 1,654 (2.4) 17,769 18,403 (3.4)
Part Run 1,548 1,725 (10.3) 18,363 18,722 (1.9)
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Total 3,162 3,379 (6.4) 36,132 37,125 (2.7)
========== ========== =========== ==========

Preprint Pieces
---------------
L.A. Times 323,104 283,105 14.1 3,425,655 3,137,601 9.2
Chicago Tribune 356,907 334,490 6.7 3,725,417 3,501,507 6.4
Newsday 189,219 237,392 (20.3) 2,332,773 2,512,437 (7.2)
Other
Dailies (B) 356,226 348,554 2.2 3,656,295 3,638,694 0.5
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Total 1,225,456 1,203,541 1.8 13,140,140 12,790,239 2.7
========== ========== =========== ==========

(A) Volume for 2004 has been modified to conform with the 2005
presentation. Volume is based on preliminary internal data, which may
be updated in subsequent reports. Advertising volume is presented
only for daily newspapers.

(B) Other daily newspapers include The Baltimore Sun, South Florida Sun-
Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, The Hartford Courant, The Morning Call,
Daily Press, The Advocate, Greenwich Time, Hoy, New York, Hoy, Chicago
and Hoy, Los Angeles.

Source: Tribune Company

CONTACT: Media Contact, Gary Weitman, +1-312-222-3394 (Office),
+1-312-222-1573 (Fax), gweitman@tribune.com , or Investor Contact, Ruthellyn
Musil, +1-312-222-3787 (Office), +1-312-222-1573 (Fax), rmusil@tribune.com ,
both of Tribune Company

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

-------
Profile: intent