Scripps Provides Financial Outlook at Media Conferences in New York

Scripps Provides Financial Outlook at Media Conferences in New York

NEW YORK, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Members of the senior management team of The E. W. Scripps Company today discussed the company's business strategy and provided a general financial outlook for 2007 during investor conferences that are being held this week in New York City.

Kenneth W. Lowe, president and chief executive officer; Richard A. Boehne, executive vice president and chief operating officer; and Joseph G. NeCastro, executive vice president and chief financial officer, led the discussion, which included comments that focused on the development of the company's interactive media and Scripps Networks divisions.

The comments were made during the Credit Suisse Global Media and Telecom Conference and the UBS 34th Annual Global Media and Communications Conference.

"Scripps has prospered for 128 years by staying ahead of the changing habits of media consumers and by delivering creative advertising and marketing solutions for the growing range of media platforms," Lowe said. "The success of that strategy is evident in the company's operating results. We're set to deliver our sixth consecutive year of solid revenue and segment profit growth, driven largely by the tremendous financial success of HGTV and Food Network."

NeCastro, in his remarks, affirmed the company's previously issued earnings guidance for the fourth quarter 2006. The company expects earnings per share from continuing operations for the period will be between 67 and 71 cents.

"As we move into the final few weeks of the year, it appears as though our financial performance will fall within the range that we forecast in October," NeCastro said.

NeCastro also provided investors with an initial financial outlook for the company's largest business segments in 2007.

The full-year outlook, broken down by business segment, is as follows:

Scripps Networks

Based on the strength of upfront advertising commitments, the company expects total revenue to grow between 10 and 13 percent for the year. Expenses are expected to be up 8 to 10 percent.

Programming is expected to account for a large share of the increase in expenses as the company remains focused on attracting new viewers to all of its networks. The company intends to capitalize on favorable viewership trends, especially at HGTV and Food Network.

The company also will be investing in network-branded interactive initiatives to capitalize on growing consumer demand for video via the Internet.

Newspapers

At its newspapers, the company anticipates modest revenue growth in the face of challenging secular trends that are having an adverse, industry-wide effect on newspaper publishers. The company expects percentage increases in newspaper revenue be in the low single digits. Revenue from newspaper Internet enterprises at Scripps is expected to account for the majority of the total revenue growth for the year.

Percentage increases in newspaper expenses also are expected to be in the low single digits. A good portion of the expense growth will be a function of the company's efforts to increase advertising share in its local markets. The company has been systematically increasing the size of ad sales staffs across its newspaper group to generate new business.

The company also anticipates investing in online initiatives to keep pace with the rapid growth in its Internet businesses.

From its newspapers in Denver, Cincinnati and Albuquerque, which are operated under joint operating agreements, the company is expecting $15 million to $20 million in segment profit for 2007.

Scripps Interactive Media

The company is expecting segment profit in the range of $80 million to $85 million for the year from Scripps Interactive Media, which includes specialized search businesses Shopzilla and U.K.-based uSwitch. The company anticipates investing in both online businesses in 2007 to maintain their competitive advantage in their respective marketplaces and to continue Shopzilla's expansion into Western Europe. The company also is contemplating expanding uSwitch to the United States in 2007.

Scripps Televison Station Group

Television station group revenue is expected to decline between 3 to 5 percent, primarily because of the relative absence of political advertising revenue compared with record political advertising in 2006. Political advertising in 2006 totaled about $45 million.

The percentage increase in expenses at the television station group is expected to be in the low single digits in 2007.

Other items
The company provided an outlook on the following other items:
Corporate expenses are expected to be $60 million to $65 million.

Depreciation and amortization will likely rise to between $125 million and $130 million primarily because of the Shopzilla and uSwitch acquisitions.

The tax rate will be about 34 percent. However, 2007 will be the first year the company will be operating under new accounting rules (FIN 48) that could have an effect on its reported tax provision.

Interest expense will be about $50 million.

Minority interest will rise again in 2007 because of the increasing profitability of the Food Network. Projected minority interest of $80 million to $85 million largely reflects Tribune's 31 percent interest in Food.

The company is planning to spend about $100 million to $110 million on capital projects next year, including expansion of Scripps Networks headquarters in Knoxville and some initial costs related to the future construction of a much needed printing plant for the company's growing Southwest Florida newspaper properties.

The company also said that profit growth will be limited in the first quarter due to the absence of Super Bowl and Olympics advertising on its television stations, the timing of investments it's making in several business segments and the seasonality of its interactive media businesses.

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements related to the company's businesses that are based on management's current expectations. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, including changes in advertising demand and other economic conditions that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. The company's written policy on forward-looking statements can be found on page F-5 of its 2005 SEC Form 10K.

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events for circumstances after the date the statement is made.

About Scripps

The E. W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP) is a diverse and growing media enterprise with interests in national cable networks, newspaper publishing, broadcast television stations, interactive media, and licensing and syndication.

The company's portfolio of media properties includes: Scripps Networks, with such brands as HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living and Great American Country; daily and community newspapers in 18 markets and the Washington-based Scripps Media Center, home to the Scripps Howard News Service; 10 broadcast TV stations, including six ABC-affiliated stations, three NBC affiliates and one independent; Scripps Interactive Media, including leading online search and comparison shopping services, Shopzilla and uSwitch; and United Media, a leading worldwide licensing and syndication company that is the home of PEANUTS, DILBERT and approximately 150 other features and comics.

Source: The E. W. Scripps Company

CONTACT: Tim Stautberg, The E. W. Scripps Company, +1-513-977-3826,
stautberg@scripps.com

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

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