Media General Reports June Revenues

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.

CONTACT: Investors: Lou Anne J. Nabhan, +1-804-649-6103, or Media: Ray
Kozakewicz, +1-804-649-6748, both of Media General, Inc.

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

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