Media General to Launch Yahoo! Display Advertising Sales in Broadcast TV Markets

RICHMOND, Va., June 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG) said today it plans to extend part of its Yahoo! advertising sales partnership to all of its television stations by the end of 2010.  In taking this action, Media General will become the first member of the Yahoo! Newspaper Consortium to sell Yahoo! Display advertising at television stations.  This move follows the recent successful completion of a pilot program in four of Media General's television markets.

The pilot markets were Birmingham, Ala., Columbus, Ohio, Mobile, Ala. and Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C./Ashville, N.C., which has two stations.  Media General will expand the program to eight additional television stations later this month and will continue in the four pilot markets.  The company has been selling Yahoo! Display advertising in its five convergence markets, which include newspapers and TV stations, since 2007.

Marshall N. Morton, president and chief executive officer of Media General, said, "Media General has been a leader in the sale of multiple Yahoo! products at our daily newspapers since early 2007.  As a result of our success in selling Yahoo! products, we will extend the sale of Yahoo! Display advertising to all of our television stations.  This expansion of our Yahoo! sales is a prime example of how our market structure promotes the development of new revenue streams and facilitates customer-focused sales and marketing solutions across multiple media platforms."  

Media General generated $7 million in Yahoo! revenues at its newspapers in 2009, including Yahoo! HotJobs and Yahoo! Display advertising, and the company estimates that amount will grow to approximately $10 million in 2010.  The sale of Yahoo! Display advertising by the company's television stations is expected to increase Media General's total Yahoo! Display revenues by approximately 50 percent on an annualized basis.

Yahoo! Display advertising is principally targeted banner ads that appear on Yahoo.com pages that display to users in Media General's markets. The advertisements target users from specific ZIP codes, demographics, or who exhibit certain online behaviors, that advertisers want to reach.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties and should be understood in the context of the company's publicly available reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Media General's future performance could differ materially from its current expectations.

About Media General

Media General is a leading provider of news, information and entertainment across multiple media platforms, serving consumers and advertisers in strong local markets, primarily in the Southeastern United States.  Media General's operations are organized in five geographic market segments and a sixth segment that includes the company's interactive advertising services and certain other operations.  The company's operations include 18 network-affiliated television stations and their associated Web sites, three metropolitan and 20 community newspapers and their associated Web sites, and more than 200 specialty publications that include weekly newspapers and niche publications targeted to various demographic, geographic and topical communities of interest.  Many of the company's specialty publications have associated Web sites.  Media General additionally operates three interactive advertising services companies:  Blockdot, which specializes in interactive entertainment and advergaming technologies; DealTaker.com, a coupon and shopping Web site; and NetInformer, a leading provider of wireless media and mobile marketing services.

SOURCE Media General, Inc.