Tribune Revenues Down 11.1% in May

CHICAGO, June 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tribune Company today reported its summary of revenues and newspaper advertising volume for period 5, ended May 27. Consolidated revenues for the period were $406 million, down 11.1 percent from last year's $457 million.

Publishing revenues in May were $292 million compared with $325 million last year, down 10.3 percent. Advertising revenues decreased 11.8 percent to $230 million, compared with $261 million in May 2006.

-- Retail advertising revenues decreased 1.0 percent with weakness in the amusement category partially offset by strength in the home furnishings and specialty merchandise categories. Preprint revenues, which are principally included in retail, were flat for the period. -- National advertising revenues declined 17.9 percent, with most categories down for the period. -- Classified advertising revenues decreased 20.0 percent. Real estate fell 30 percent with significant declines in the Florida markets, Chicago and Los Angeles due to difficult year-over-year comparisons. Help wanted declined 20 percent and automotive decreased 7 percent. Interactive revenues, which are primarily included in classified, were $22 million, up 22 percent, due to growth in all categories.

Circulation revenues were down 6.2 percent due to single-copy declines and continued selective discounting in home delivery.

Broadcasting and entertainment group revenues in May decreased 13.0 percent to $114 million compared with $131 million last year. Television revenues fell 11.0 percent, with lower automotive, movie and political advertising partially offset by strength in the retail and telecom/wireless categories. Results also reflected fewer Cubs home games in the period versus last year.

Tribune Company will announce second quarter 2007 earnings on Wednesday, July 25, before the NYSE opening. The full text of the earnings announcement and accompanying financial tables will be available on Tribune's website, http://www.tribune.com/. There will not be a conference call.

Important Additional Information Regarding the Merger will be filed with the SEC:

In connection with the proposed merger between a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Tribune Employee Stock Ownership Trust and Tribune Company, Tribune filed a preliminary proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on June 1, 2007. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING DECISION WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPOSED MERGER, INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PRELIMINARY PROXY STATEMENT FILED WITH THE SEC ON JUNE 1, 2007 AND THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN, OR WILL CONTAIN, IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of the preliminary proxy statement and the definitive proxy statement (when available) and other documents filed by the Company with the SEC at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/. The preliminary proxy statement and the definitive proxy statement (when available) and other relevant documents may also be obtained free of charge on Tribune's website at http://www.tribune.com/ or by directing a request to Tribune Company, 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, Attention: Investor Relations. You may also read and copy any reports, statements and other information filed by Tribune with the SEC at the SEC public reference room at 450 Fifth Street, N.W. Room 1200, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 or visit the SEC's website for further information on its public reference room.

The Company and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be "participants" in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of the Company in connection with the proposed merger. Information about Tribune and its directors and executive officers and their ownership of Tribune common stock is set forth in the proxy statement for Tribune's Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 6, 2007. Shareholders and investors may obtain additional information regarding the interests of the Company and its directors and executive officers in the merger, which may be different than those of the Company's shareholders generally, by reading the preliminary proxy statement filed with the SEC on June 1, 2007 and the definitive proxy statement (when available) and other relevant documents regarding the merger that are filed with the SEC.

Forward-Looking Statements

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. You can identify these and other forward looking statements by the use of such words as "will," "expect," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "intend," "continue," or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements also include the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements. Actual results could differ materially from the expectations expressed in these statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include risks related to the transactions being consummated; the risk that required regulatory approvals or financing might not be obtained in a timely manner, without conditions, or at all; the impact of the substantial indebtedness incurred to finance the consummation of the tender offer and the merger; the ability to satisfy all closing conditions in the definitive agreements; difficulties in retaining employees as a result of the merger agreement; risks of unforeseen material adverse changes to our business or operations; risks that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans, operations, and business growth initiatives; the risk associated with the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Tribune and others following announcement of the merger agreement; and other factors described in 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 Tribune's business or financial results. These factors, including also the ability to complete the merger, 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. Tribune's next quarterly 10-Q report to be filed with the SEC may contain updates to the information included in this release.

TRIBUNE is one of the country's top media companies, operating businesses in publishing, interactive 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's leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.), The Sun (Baltimore), South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel and Hartford Courant. The company's broadcasting group operates 23 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 5 Ended May 27, 2007 (In thousands) Period 5 (4 weeks) Year-to-Date (21 weeks) 2007 2006 % 2007 2006 % ---------- ---------- --- ----------- ---------- --- Publishing (A) ---------- Advertising Retail $ 104,630 $ 105,666 (1.0) $ 488,000 $ 497,262 (1.9) National 46,282 56,356 (17.9) 269,842 288,170 (6.4) Classified 79,421 99,263 (20.0) 420,163 495,734 (15.2) ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- Sub-Total 230,333 261,285 (11.8) 1,178,005 1,281,166 (8.1) Circulation 40,952 43,648 (6.2) 216,409 231,694 (6.6) Other 20,625 20,548 0.4 107,807 102,872 4.8 ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- Segment Total 291,910 325,481 (10.3) 1,502,221 1,615,732 (7.0) ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- Broadcasting & Entertainment -------------- Television (B) 89,357 100,439 (11.0) 444,424 457,850 (2.9) Radio/Enter. 24,698 30,623 (19.3) 73,292 66,834 9.7 ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- Segment Total 114,055 131,062 (13.0) 517,716 524,684 (1.3) ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- Consol. Rev.(A)(B) $ 405,965 $ 456,543 (11.1) $ 2,019,937 $ 2,140,416 (5.6) ========== ========== =========== ========== Total Advertising Inches (A)(C) ------------------------ Full Run Retail 432 428 0.9 2,028 2,025 0.1 National 198 246 (19.5) 1,084 1,262 (14.1) Classified 635 815 (22.1) 3,332 3,987 (16.4) ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- Sub-Total 1,265 1,489 (15.0) 6,444 7,274 (11.4) Part Run 1,509 1,803 (16.3) 7,660 8,423 (9.1) ---------- ---------- ----------- ---------- Total 2,774 3,292 (15.7) 14,104 15,697 (10.1) ========== ========== =========== ========== Preprint Pieces (A)(C) --------------- Total 1,202,588 1,145,562 5.0 5,743,454 5,517,963 4.1 ========== ========== =========== ========== (A) In May 2007, the Company completed the sale of its New York edition of Hoy. In the first quarter of 2007, Tribune announced the sale of its Southern Connecticut Newspapers - The Advocate (Stamford) and Greenwich Times. For both years, results for these newspapers are excluded from this presentation. (B) Excludes results from discontinued operations that were sold in 2006 (WATL-TV, Atlanta, WLVI-TV, Boston and WCWN-TV, Albany). (C) Volume for 2006 has been modified to conform with the 2007 presentation. Volume includes only the daily newspapers and is based on preliminary internal data, which may be updated in subsequent reports.