Tribune Revenues Down 3.0% in February

Tribune Revenues Down 3.0% in February

Publishing Advertising Revenues Down 2.2%; Television Revenues Down 5.0%

CHICAGO, March 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) today reported its summary of revenues and newspaper advertising volume for period 2, ended Feb. 26, 2006. Consolidated revenues for the period were $408 million, down 3.0 percent from last year's $420 million.

Publishing revenues in February were $314 million compared to last year's $321 million, down 2.4 percent. Advertising revenues decreased 2.2 percent to $248 million, compared with $254 million in February 2005.

-- Retail advertising revenues decreased 4.7 percent with weakness in the
food & drug, department store and electronics categories. Preprint
revenues, which are principally included in retail, were down 6
percent due primarily to a decline at Newsday. Excluding Newsday,
preprint revenues were down 1 percent.
-- National advertising revenues declined 11.5 percent principally due to
lower automotive and movie advertising.
-- Classified advertising revenues rose 7.2 percent due to gains in real
estate and help wanted, which rose 35 percent and 5 percent,
respectively. Automotive classified advertising fell 11 percent.
Interactive revenues, which are primarily included in classified, were
$17 million, up 24 percent, due to strength in all categories.

Circulation revenues were down 3.9 percent due to volume declines at most of the company's newspapers and selectively higher discounting.

Broadcasting and entertainment group revenues in February decreased 4.8 percent to $94 million, compared with $99 million last year. Television revenues declined 5.0 percent; weakness in auto and package goods was partially offset by increases in media and education. Radio/entertainment revenues decreased 0.9 percent primarily due to lower syndication revenues at Tribune Entertainment.

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 AND NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING VOLUME (Unaudited)
For Period 2 Ended February 26, 2006
(In thousands)

Period 2 (4 weeks) Year-to-Date (9 weeks)
2006 2005 % 2006 2005 %
---------- ---------- --- ----------- ---------- ---
Publishing
----------
Advertising
Retail $ 93,849 $ 98,492 (4.7) $ 203,645 $ 206,822 (1.5)
National 57,031 64,450 (11.5) 129,885 142,308 (8.7)
Classified 97,412 90,875 7.2 203,784 193,077 5.5
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Sub-Total 248,292 253,817 (2.2) 537,314 542,207 (0.9)
Circulation 44,968 46,774 (3.9) 100,789 105,118 (4.1)
Other 20,338 20,745 (2.0) 42,705 45,006 (5.1)
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Segment
Total (A) 313,598 321,336 (2.4) 680,808 692,331 (1.7)
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Broadcasting &
Entertainment
--------------
Television 89,126 93,811 (5.0) 189,386 194,586 (2.7)
Radio/Enter. 4,923 4,967 (0.9) 9,250 10,087 (8.3)
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Segment Total 94,049 98,778 (4.8) 198,636 204,673 (2.9)
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Consol. Rev. $ 407,647 $ 420,114 (3.0) $ 879,444 $ 897,004 (2.0)
========== ========== =========== ==========

Total Advertising Inches (B)
------------------------
Full Run
Retail 426 446 (4.5) 909 946 (3.9)
National 270 316 (14.6) 633 667 (5.1)
Classified 826 762 8.4 1,756 1,641 7.0
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Sub-Total 1,522 1,524 (0.1) 3,298 3,254 1.4
Part Run 1,555 1,597 (2.6) 3,275 3,380 (3.1)
---------- ---------- ----------- ----------
Total 3,077 3,121 (1.4) 6,573 6,634 (0.9)
========== ========== =========== ==========

Preprint Pieces (B)
---------------
Total 1,061,389 1,132,689 (6.3) 2,300,635 2,403,777 (4.3)
========== ========== =========== ==========

(A) Publishing advertising and other revenues for 2005 have been
reclassified to conform with the 2006 presentation. There was no
effect on total revenues.

(B) Volume for 2005 has been modified to conform with the 2006
presentation. Volume includes only the daily newspapers and is based
on preliminary internal data, which may be updated in subsequent
reports. The presentation of volume data has been changed to be more
consistent with the summary of revenues table.

Source: Tribune Company

CONTACT: Media, Gary Weitman, +1-312-222-3394 (Office), or
+1-312-222-1573 (Fax), gweitman@tribune.com , Investor, 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/

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