Hearst-Argyle Television (HTV)

Results for the Quarter Ended June 30, 2007 vs. June 30, 2006

For the quarter ended June 30, 2007, total revenue of $193.0 million was essentially flat compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2006, and up 2.4% compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2005.  A 3% decline in net advertising revenues was offset by a 48% increase in net digital media revenues, and a 35% increase in retransmission consent fees.  The Company also benefited from a modest increase in network compensation for the quarter.

Net advertising revenues were impacted by an expected decline in political ad spending, consistent with normal cyclical patterns.  Net political revenue of $4.9 million compared to $12.9 million and $2.3 million in second quarter 2006 and 2005 respectively.  Automotive, the Company’s largest advertising category, reflected continued weakness, declining 13% versus second quarter 2006.  Increased spending in telecommunications, attractions, pharmaceuticals, and movies outweighed declines in furniture/housewares, financial services and fast foods.  The Company also benefited from the added revenue of WCKF-TV, Orlando, which was acquired in third quarter 2006.

The Company’s owned ABC stations achieved revenue growth of 2% in the quarter, with similar growth achieved by the company’s two CBS affiliates.  Conversely, the Company’s NBC stations experienced revenue declines of approximately 10%, reflecting NBC’s weak prime-time ratings during the 2006/2007 television season. In addition, the Company’s CW and My Network affiliates experienced declines of approximately 20% on a combined basis.

 Commenting on the announcement, David Barrett, President and Chief Executive Officer said, “2007 is generally unfolding as we’ve expected.  The challenge of replacing record levels of political revenue is, of course, daunting, as is the ongoing weakness in the automotive sector, but there are many positive indicators that our company is effectively competing for audience, revenue and profitability in our diverse markets.   May 2007 Nielsen ratings again reflect excellence and dominance for many of our stations—in news, prime and syndicated dayparts.  Notwithstanding the competitive ebb and flow of network prime-time ratings, all 18 Hearst-Argyle stations that receive metered market data from Nielsen over-indexed their respective networks’ prime-time ratings in May for ABC, NBC, CBS, CW and MN.  Web traffic continues to grow at our station sites, and our strategy of serving our local viewers on-air, on-line and on-demand is on target.

“We are noting some stabilization and improvement in broad-based sales activity,” Barrett added, “and we expect that several of our markets will benefit from meaningful political spending in third quarter and fourth quarter.

“Our stations are wonderfully positioned, strategically and competitively, to capitalize on the opportunities that await us in 2008, including more buoyant ad markets, burgeoning digital media initiatives, and future retransmission consent agreements, all of which are leveraged against the local content and local leadership that is our stock in trade.”

Results for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2007 vs. March 31, 2006

 For the quarter ended March 31, 2007, total revenue of $169.4 million was down 2.6% compared to $174.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 and up 4.4% from $162.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2005.  The Company generated $148.2 million in net advertising revenue, down 4% from the prior-year period, due mainly to a decrease in the automotive category, which spent heavily during the 2006 winter Olympics and the Super Bowl.  Net political revenue of $1.5 million compares to $2.1 million and $0.7 million in first quarter 2006 and 2005, respectively.  Total revenue also reflects a 12% increase in retransmission consent revenue to $5.2 million, a 27% increase in net digital revenue to $4.0 million and a 24% increase in network compensation to $2.5 million.

Commenting on the announcement, David Barrett, President and Chief Executive Officer said, “Consistent with the normal cyclical revenue pattern for market-leading television station groups, our first quarter results reflect the comparison to a prior-year period when we benefited from approximately $17 million of net Olympic revenue on our 10 NBC stations, and approximately $4 million of net Super Bowl revenue on our 12 owned ABC stations, as well as from more buoyant spending in the automotive category.

“Automotive continues to reflect the sluggishness we have previously indicated, and has mainly tracked with soft regional economic conditions in some East Coast markets.  Nevertheless, we are encouraged by positive ad-sales pacings in the telecom, retail, furniture/housewares and pharmaceuticals categories.

“Our stations competed very effectively for audience and revenue share, and strongly advanced our digital media efforts, including Web and multicast initiatives.  The strength of our local news franchises, reflected in market-leading ratings and numerous accolades for reporting excellence and community engagement, is the strong foundation for our local business model, and enables many of our stations to significantly over-index national ratings benchmarks for network and syndicated programs.

“In the February ‘sweeps’ ratings period, Hearst-Argyle stations KOCO, Oklahoma City; KMBC, Kansas City; and WISN, Milwaukee, were once again the top three rated ABC affiliates in the country in prime time,” Barrett noted.  “The strong competitive performance of our local stations, reflected in their ratings and their journalistic honors, is a distinct advantage for our company.

“While 2007 will reflect our sector’s normal cyclical pattern — lacking an Olympics and including a material decrease in the amount of political advertising in comparison to the $88 million received in 2006 — we are reaffirming our full-year revenue and expense outlook from February 23, 2007.  Notwithstanding, we do anticipate active political spending in several of our markets — including early caucus and political primary markets such as Des Moines, IA, Manchester, NH, and Greenville, SC, and in Kentucky and Louisiana where we expect contested gubernatorial races — as the year progresses, and a more favorable climate for the automotive category with the introduction of 2008 product.  Our operators are up to the challenge of competing for ad revenue against all media sectors, and growing our digital revenue base.  As always we are focused on managing operating costs with strict discipline while still investing in initiatives that will contribute to long term growth. The work we’ll do in 2007 will help us capture the promising opportunities of 2008.”

Digital Media Update

New Web-based digital media products under development include regional auto classified advertising destinations, following on the heels of WYFF-TV’s highly successful LocalCars4Me.com in the Greenville, SC, market.   The Company’s WPBF-TV (ABC), West Palm Beach, FL, and KITV (ABC), Honolulu, HI, have launched new weather channels over their digital spectrum, and WTAE-TV (ABC), Pittsburgh, PA, has launched a traffic-and-weather channel; Hearst-Argyle NBC affiliates currently stream Weather Plus channels over their digital spectrum, and KETV (ABC), Omaha, NE, and KCCI-TV (CBS), Des Moines, IA, also stream digital weather channels.

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Driven by major weather and news events, first-quarter monthly average page views and video streams for the Hearst-Argyle Websites were 138 million, up 31%, and 4.2 million, up 40%, respectively, compared to first-quarter 2006, according to data from WebTrends.  Average monthly unique visitors for the quarter was 9.6 million, according to WebTrends; 13 of the Hearst-Argyle sites set monthly unique-visitor records, while 11 set monthly page view records.

During the quarter, Internet Broadcasting (IB), a strategic partner in which Hearst-Argyle Television holds a 39% equity interest, experienced similar growth in its “network” of local-TV websites, which includes the Hearst-Argyle sites among others.  IB also re-launched its national mobile network, currently including 12 Hearst-Argyle sites, to provide content via wireless application protocol (WAP).

Earlier this month, IB and