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Media General revenue drops in 3rd quarter

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 22, 2009

RICHMOND, Va. - Falling ad revenue and a big one-time charge pushed newspaper and TV station owner Media General Inc. to a third-quarter loss, the company said Wednesday.

The parent company of The Tampa Tribune, WFLA and TBO.com in Tampa, attributed a big chunk of the ad revenue decline to the absence of Olympic and political ads that fattened results a year ago.

But CEO Marshall Morton conceded that the "advertising environment in the third quarter remained challenging."

The Richmond, Va.-based company lost $62.5 million, or $2.80 a share, in the three months ended Sept. 27. That compares with a profit of $6.1 million, or 27 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue fell 18 percent to $158 million, down from $192.9 million a year ago when Olympic and political ad revenue accounted for about $18.5 million in sales.

Media General said a hefty write-down in the value of its newspapers and stations took profit down by $84 million. Excluding special items, it said, earnings would have come to $4.4 million, or 20 cents a share.

The Associated Press

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