Despite Crew Crunch, U.S. Open Sends HD Worldwide

By Carolyn Braff Sports Video Group

Finding a full broadcast staff to work a two-week-long tennis tournament in late August is never easy, but, with the Summer Olympics and the Democratic National Convention competing for crew members, organizers of the U.S. Open should have been panicked. However, with effective planning and dedicated staffers -– some of whom flew directly from Beijing to Queens, N.Y., to work the Open -– this year’s event not only opened on Monday without a hitch but spread its HD wings as well.

“Crewing was hard for everybody this summer,” says Steve Gorsuch, director of broadcast operations at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open. “A couple of guys that I use for my integrated feed were over in Beijing doing tennis and, after being on the road for five weeks, could not commit to another two weeks here.”

For Nick Muro, head of on-site technical operations for CBS Sports, “the biggest challenge with this event is the grind. We’re on the air for 14 days, sometimes 14 hours a day, and maintaining that level of concentration is very difficult.” Plus, he adds, “some of our main people flew directly from China to here, and that plays into the whole mental-fatigue factor. That’s a big challenge.”

Another big challenge this year is increasing the reach of high-definition. The main courts in Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong Stadiums have broadcast domestic HD feeds for a decade, but this year, the dozen international broadcasters on-site will have access to an HD world feed.

“A lot of Europe is now watching the coverage in high-definition via Eurosport, and then they have a lot of sub-licensees,” Gorsuch says. “In the second week, WOWOW, the Japanese broadcaster, will broadcast the semifinals and finals in HD.”

The HD signals from Ashe and Armstrong stadiums are sent to a single distribution center where each international broadcaster can choose which feeds to utilize.

“All of the cameras from Courts 1 and 2 get sent over to international distribution point, and they hand off feeds of whatever anybody needs,” Muro explains. “We hand it off once to them, and they handle the downstream distribution.”

The USTA also produces its own world integrated feed that airs primarily in Africa, South America, and Asia. With full commentary on Ashe and Armstrong and a swing booth that covers action from the Grandstand and Courts 11 and 13, the USTA produces a show for the world that mirrors the top coverage from the CBS/USA domestic broadcast.

To bring that HD distribution to the world, CBS -– which shares domestic broadcast rights with USA Sports -– had to reconfigure its international control room with HD-compatible equipment, which Gorsuch expected to be quite difficult due to this summer’s Olympic demands. “Gear was not as much of a problem as I thought, given other sports and conventions,” he says. “We procured everything early, but I thought it was going to be more of a challenge.”

Bexel is providing the majority of the broadcast equipment for CBS, including the HD control room facilities for CBS' international coverage of courts 1 and 2.

For the 11 courts that are not broadcast in HD, the standard-definition feed is being shot in 16:9, instead of 4:3, which makes for a smoother transition in the early days of the tournament, when USA and CBS switch among the two stadiums and the outer courts.

“When we jump to the outer courts, we have to use an upconverted feed,” Muro says, “but at least now it’s 16:9.”

All together, the production uses 40 cameras, about half of them HD, including four robotic cameras. In addition, 14 EVS devices, two Avid rooms with LAN unity, three Vizrt graphics systems, four HD Pinnacle 3000s, two HD Kayak switchers, and two Yamaha digital audio consoles operate behind the scenes.

Nearly a dozen shotgun microphones line the main courts for CBS’ 5.1 surround-sound coverage, including three along each baseline, two net microphones, and an on-court shotgun operator.

Production support is spread among several vendors. NCP VIII houses the domestic control room for CBS and USA coverage, as well as the HD cameras for Arthur Ashe Stadium. F&F’s GTX 15 truck is home to the USA studio and the HD cameras for Louis Armstrong Stadium. Corplex, NEP, and Sure Shot also have mobile units on-site, and All Mobile Video is supplying the international transmission center, as well as all the flypack equipment, for the USTA’s world integrated feed.

Returning for this year’s coverage are the Chase Review player challenge system, which has become industry-standard and requires little technical operation aside from on-site calibration, and the WiseDV handheld devices that allow fans in the stands to watch up to six matches on an MPEG-4 video player.

The system also requires minimal technical brawn, as it is run from the back booth of an existing office trailer. “Basically,” Gorsuch says, “it’s their headend to do the channel ingestion, and that’s it.”

Coverage of the U.S. Open continues through Sept. 7 on CBS and USA.


© Copyright 2006-2008 sportsvideogroup

Fitch lowers Tribune debt rating

Tribune staff reporter

Fitch Ratings, citing the "rapidly deteriorating" conditions in the newspaper industry, lowered its ratings on Tribune Co.'s $13.4 billion in outstanding debt.


Given the accelerating decline in newspaper advertising revenue and cash flow at the Chicago media holding company, Fitch said, and in view of the fact that there is "no evidence" the pressures on the industry will be relenting any time soon, Fitch lowered its issuer default rating from "B-minus" to "CCC."


A "CCC" rating, the rating concern said, indicates that there is a "real possibility" the issuer could default. The low rating also suggests that the issuer's ability to meet financial commitments "is vulnerable to deterioration in business and economic conditions," Fitch said.


Tribune Co. is heavily leveraged as the result of an $8.2 billion leveraged buyout engineered by real estate mogul Sam Zell last December. In the months since then, the newspaper sector's troubles have deepened, and some observers have voiced reservations about the company's ability to stay current with its debt payments in coming years.


Near term, Tribune has raised money be selling off some assets: earlier this year it sold a controlling interest in its Long Island-based Newsday daily, and the company is currently pursuing a sale of its Chicago Cubs major-league baseball team.

Earlier this week, Chairman and CEO Zell told Bloomberg Television in an interview that the company has no liquidity issues and is positioned to handled scheduled debt payments for the next seven years.

"We don't have any real maturities that aren't covered until 2015," he said, reiterating that the company expects to pay off the $593 million remaining principal balance of a $1.5 billion bank loan that comes due in June of 2009.

Fitch lowered its rating on a number of other Tribune debt issues, and retained its "negative" outlook on the debt.

Tribune's second-quarter operating results were weak, Fitch said, as the rapid falloff in advertising that has socked all newspaper publishers continues to take a toll on revenues. The rating concern said it remains cautious about the newspaper industry's ability to capture and monetize the growing torrent of advertising dollars that are migrating toward the Internet.

Although Tribune appears likely to make the required June 2009 payment that is looming, Fitch said, "further asset monetization may be necessary."

I the long run, Fitch said, there is reason to be "concerned about the company's ability to generate cash to meet its interest payments, principal amortization and maturities under its debt obligations.

Tribune Co. Edges Closer to Default

by Erik Sass, Media Daily News

Sam Zell is finding less room to maneuver when it comes to servicing the $8.4 billion debt incurred by Tribune Co. in the employee-owned deal he engineered. Although the company has met all of its debt obligations to date, the possibility of default sometime in 2009 looms ever larger with each new negative earnings release.

Last week, Tribune said total revenues declined 6% to $1.1 billion, due mostly to a 15% or $91 million decline in ad revenue in its publishing division. Its digital revenues fell 4% because of the decline in online classifieds. As a result of the continuing contraction of newspaper advertising, the company incurred a massive loss of $3.8 billion in the second quarter, including writedowns of goodwill and intangible assets.

And it gets worse. Tribune also said operating cash flow declined 2% to $221 million. This follows a 16% decrease in first-quarter operating cash flow, to $200 million. These figures are important because, per the terms of its debt agreements, Tribune must maintain a ratio of debt to operating cash flow of no more than 9-to-1, based on the present and three previous quarters. If the ratio climbs above 9-to-1, the company could be declared to be in default by lenders.

Because the debt agreements are relatively new, there are only two quarters of data to consider, but the trend is not promising. Altogether, the company's operating cash flow in the first half of the year was $417.6 million, down 6% from $445.6 million in the first half of 2007. If the trend holds up with a 6% decline in the second half, operating cash flow for the full year will be around $932 million.

Tribune paid down $807 million on the principal $8.2 billion debt in the second quarter, bringing it to $7.4 billion. Thus, the ratio of cash flow to debt stands at about 8-to-1, within the bounds of the covenant.

But to make the payment this quarter, Tribune had to borrow a further $218 million--plus a $7 million fee--under a financial arrangement called a trade receivables debt securitization facility, which has an upper limit of $300 million. That leaves $75 million for future emergency borrowing.

Trends in the newspaper business are all pointed sharply downward, and some analysts expect losses to accelerate during the second half of the year. That means Tribune's cash flow could shrink much faster than the 6% rate of the first half. If it shrank at a 20% rate--closer to the rate in the first quarter and 2007--its cash flow for the full year would be under $800 million, in violation of its covenant by about $200 million.

________________

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Tribune axes more than 40 newsroom staffers

BY SANDRA GUY sguy@suntimes.com

The Chicago Tribune on Friday laid off more than 40 newsroom employees -- twice the number many people had expected -- as part of the Tribune Co.'s plan to cut $8.8 million in salaries and benefits at the 161-year-old newspaper.

The cuts, combined with more than 30 journalists' voluntary departures a week ago, left the Tribune with 70 fewer newsroom positions. The newsroom now has 480 staffers.

Mark Hinojosa, associate managing editor for multimedia, confirmed Friday that he was laid off after working for the Tribune for 17 years.

Hinojosa, who will turn 52 on Sunday, described the mood in the newsroom as tense since Tribune executives announced July 25 that layoffs were planned.

"Everyone was grieving for their friends and colleagues who have now left," Hinojosa said.

In a memo Friday, Tribune Editor Gerould W. Kern said, "While painful, these staff reductions are necessary to establish the foundation for a sustainable future."

The journalists laid off will get an allocation to their cash balance account equal to one week's pay for each consecutive period of six weeks of service, with a minimum of three months and a maximum of 52 weeks, according to Kern's memo.

Real estate magnate and billionaire Sam Zell swallowed $13 billion in debt last December when he took control of Tribune Co., converting it from stockholder to employee ownership.

Last week, the Tribune Co., dealing with an industrywide recession and a mountain of debt, reported a $4.53 billion net loss in the second quarter, primarily due to $3.84 billion in charges to write down the value of goodwill assets. The asset write-downs included the Times-Mirror Co newspapers that Tribune acquired eight years ago.

__________________

Meet the newest L.A. Times publisher

By Kevin Roderick • Bio • Email LA Observed

The reports — starting, I believe, with Cynthia Littleton in Variety back in July — have all been accurate. Up next in the rotating chair of Los Angeles Times publisher is Eddy Hartenstein, the former head of DirecTV. Tonight's Times story says he will take over on Monday. Hartenstein says he was approached by Sam Zell about a month ago and took the job after being assured by Zell that the Times is NOT for sale. "One of the questions I asked Sam was: Are you going to keep this?" Hartenstein told the Times. The answer "was a strong, affirmative 'Yes. This is a keeper.' "

The Times story notes that Hartenstein takes over "at a time when The Times and most other newspapers are losing readers and advertising revenue at a significant rate. Some observers are even questioning whether the newspaper business as currently constituted can survive." But the new publisher, who is 57 and grew up in Alhambra, says "I'm not coming into this with blinders on. I realize that the problems are huge and daunting, but I don't believe there's anything that can't be fixed as long as everyone is pulling in the same direction."

While pursuing a master's in applied mechanics at Caltech in his spare time, Hartenstein was moving up the ladder at Hughes and germinating an idea that would shake up the television industry: using satellites and digital technologies to deliver programming to viewers' homes. Not only would the sound and picture be sharper, satellite TV would make an end run around local cable monopolies, he reasoned. In the early '90s, Hartenstein persuaded his bosses at GM to finance the venture that would become DirecTV Group Inc. In 1994, DirecTV revolutionized the satellite TV business when it introduced a small receiving dish that could be mounted on a rooftop or apartment balcony, eliminating the need for the wading-pool-sized backyard dishes that had been the standard until then.

Classic shows could find new life in digital TV

By David Lieberman, USA TODAY

NEW YORK — Everyone knows that the national transition to digital broadcast television will promote sexy new technologies including high-definition TV (HDTV).

But few could have imagined that it might also revive some of the creakiest movies and series ever committed to celluloid, including The Lone Ranger, McHale's Navy and The Addams Family.

Vintage reruns and other inexpensive shows are in vogue, though, as stations and programmers rush into a potentially important new business: multicast networks.

Executives at services such as MGM's This TV, Retro Television Network (RTN), VTV: The Variety Channel, .2 Network, NBC's Universal Sports and the Local AccuWeather Channel say that they can change the TV habits of millions of viewers — especially after Feb. 17, the federal deadline for stations to stop broadcasting analog signals and just offer digital.

"We're betting that it's a huge opportunity," says Howard Bolter, president of LATV, a bilingual entertainment service that targets young Latino viewers.

Multicast services piggyback on digital signals from local stations, including those offering HDTV versions of ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS. Most stations also have room in the airwave spectrum the government has allocated to transmit two standard-definition channels. That could mean up to a dozen stations for a moderate-size market.

'We're hitting the mother lode'

That means someone in, say, Savannah, Ga., who receives over-the-air digital signals and wants to watch Bachelor Father on RTN would punch 3.2 into the remote: That indicates it's subchannel Multicast services piggyback on digital signals from local stations, including those offering HDTV versions of ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS. Most stations also have room in the airwave spectrum the government has allocated to transmit two standard-definition channels. That could mean up to a dozen stations for a moderate-size market.

'We're hitting the mother lode'

That means someone in, say, Savannah, Ga., who receives over-the-air digital signals and wants to watch Bachelor Father on RTN would punch 3.2 into the remote: That indicates it's subchannel 2 of channel 3. Cable and satellite services assign distinct channel numbers to multicast services.

Programmers say that their ventures will appeal to people who already feel overrun with TV options. "We're hitting the mother lode," says RTN Executive Vice President Mark Dvornik. "A lot of cable networks have drifted to first-run and reality shows. But there's an audience that wants classic shows."

Most should reach everyone in a community — not just cable and satellite subscribers. And local broadcasters have a strong incentive to promote them on their popular newscasts as well as syndicated and major network shows.

Stations typically get the multicast programming for free and sell five minutes an hour of ad time. The networks sell an additional five minutes to national advertisers.

Multicast network programmers say that they could have a big advantage over national cable channels if stations add their own shows to the mix.

"The future of digital multicast channels is to stay local," says Ken Reiner, vice president of programming for Newport Television, the backer of VTV, whose fare includes home and garden shows as well as chestnuts such as The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and I Married Joan.

"Many stations with major network agreements have limitations on their ability to present local programming," Reiner says. The multicast "channels can become a social network in a community."

Weather could be a big draw

NBC and AccuWeather are counting on local weather to be a big draw. "The challenge stations have is to find content that will attract viewers, and one of the most obvious places to look is at content that's worked on their flagship stations," says Lee Rainey, vice president of marketing at AccuWeather.

Because multicast channels use the public airwaves, they must comply with Federal Communications Commission rules for broadcasters, including the requirements to offer closed captioning, kid-friendly shows and community service.

And because the networks will have few viewers initially, it may take awhile before ad sales cover even their low programming costs. That may force stations to reach out to small businesses, such as waterbed stores or kung fu trainers.

"We've out-priced those people," says MGM's John Bryan, who's overseeing This TV — a service that will feature the studio's 4,100 films and 10,000 hours of TV shows. "If you think about the (ad) inventory that can get moved that way, stations could see an 8% to 10% bump to their bottom line."

That's a key argument for programmers: Station owners also are weighing opportunities to use their extra airwave capacity for business data or to broadcast TV shows to cellphones.

Multicast network executives say that they aren't worried. Stations could have room for several additional channels and services as engineers find new ways to compress digital bits.

"It's a long-range business," Bolter says. "These channels require a financial and an emotional commitment. And people need to get those (digital) TVs. When they do, they'll be surprised at how much is out there already."

Channel 2 of channel 3. Cable and satellite services assign distinct channel numbers to multicast services.

Programmers say that their ventures will appeal to people who already feel overrun with TV options. "We're hitting the mother lode," says RTN Executive Vice President Mark Dvornik. "A lot of cable networks have drifted to first-run and reality shows. But there's an audience that wants classic shows."

Most should reach everyone in a community — not just cable and satellite subscribers. And local broadcasters have a strong incentive to promote them on their popular newscasts as well as syndicated and major network shows.

Stations typically get the multicast programming for free and sell five minutes an hour of ad time. The networks sell an additional five minutes to national advertisers.

Multicast network programmers say that they could have a big advantage over national cable channels if stations add their own shows to the mix.

"The future of digital multicast channels is to stay local," says Ken Reiner, vice president of programming for Newport Television, the backer of VTV, whose fare includes home and garden shows as well as chestnuts such as The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and I Married Joan.

"Many stations with major network agreements have limitations on their ability to present local programming," Reiner says. The multicast "channels can become a social network in a community."

Weather could be a big draw

NBC and AccuWeather are counting on local weather to be a big draw. "The challenge stations have is to find content that will attract viewers, and one of the most obvious places to look is at content that's worked on their flagship stations," says Lee Rainey, vice president of marketing at AccuWeather.

Because multicast channels use the public airwaves, they must comply with Federal Communications Commission rules for broadcasters, including the requirements to offer closed captioning, kid-friendly shows and community service.

And because the networks will have few viewers initially, it may take awhile before ad sales cover even their low programming costs. That may force stations to reach out to small businesses, such as waterbed stores or kung fu trainers.

"We've out-priced those people," says MGM's John Bryan, who's overseeing This TV — a service that will feature the studio's 4,100 films and 10,000 hours of TV shows. "If you think about the (ad) inventory that can get moved that way, stations could see an 8% to 10% bump to their bottom line."

That's a key argument for programmers: Station owners also are weighing opportunities to use their extra airwave capacity for business data or to broadcast TV shows to cellphones.

Multicast network executives say that they aren't worried. Stations could have room for several additional channels and services as engineers find new ways to compress digital bits.

"It's a long-range business," Bolter says. "These channels require a financial and an emotional commitment. And people need to get those (digital) TVs. When they do, they'll be surprised at how much is out there already."

______________________

Excerpts from an article By Gregory M. Lamb | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor / August 13, 2008 edition

Increasingly, Americans are watching video when they want to, and on the screen that suits them at the time. And more programming is from new sources that threaten to unlock Hollywood’s domination of content. Video is now delivered on displays and devices of every shape and size, from gigantic theater screens and ever-larger home projector screens, to flat-screen HDTVs, to desktop and laptop computer monitors, to tiny personal screens such as those found on iPods and mobile phones.

This spring and summer, deals to make video more ubiquitous across screens have popped up with more and more frequency:

• Netflix, the video rent-by-mail company, has struck several new agreements to deliver its content online. A new $100 box from Roku the size of a paperback book lets users stream any of about 10,000 movies from Netflix to their TVs (though the vast majority of Netflix’s library will still be available only through DVDs by mail). South Korea’s LG Electronics announced it will offer a high-definition (HD) disc player that also will be able to access HD-quality movies from Netflix via the Internet. And Microsoft will stream Netflix video to its Xbox 360 videogame consoles.

• Sony said it will offer a movie and TV show download option for its Playstation videogame console.

• Apple Corporation, which sells millions of videos online through its iTunes store, relaunched its Apple TV player, which can send that content to a TV set.

• Amazon, the online retailer, is offering Amazon Video on Demand, which will give users immediate streaming access to 40,000 movies and TV shows. This video is now available only on a computer.

• At least a half-dozen TV manufacturers, including Sony, Hewlett-Packard, and Samsung, have announced they will sell sets that are continuously connected to a broadband Internet network, allowing Web content, including video, to move easily to the biggest screen in the house.

• TiVo, the digital video recorder, will supply video from YouTube, the online video site famous for short, often amateur videos.

• In March, hulu.com went public. The website streams online free, high-quality video including a growing selection of TV shows and movies.

While these new services get video moving to new screens, none is a complete solution on its own, says the Wharton School’s Mr. Whitehouse. “There are a lot of different companies supporting different file formats,” he says. What you don’t have is the one device that can “get content from all the major services like hulu and Netflix and iTunes.”

There’s a kind of convergence between TV and Internet that’s happening, “but not really a friendly one [for consumers], I think,” says Bobby Tulsiani, an analyst who tracks developments in internet video for JupiterResearch.

TV networks, he says, have a time-tested model for making money through advertising and the fees cable TV companies pay to carry their programming. Online distribution presents potential new revenue sources, but also the danger that viewers will slide online, where profits are more uncertain.

YouTube has popularized video viewing online. But the conventional wisdom has been that people won’t watch anything longer than two or three minutes on a computer screen. That as­­sumption has been proved wrong with the huge popularity of TV series online. “We’ve moved from TV on this biggest screen to TV on this middle screen,” the computer, says Mr. Tulsiani, which he calls “a critical change.” “That’s the fastest-growing segment of who’s watching TV content,” he says.

Nearly 80 million Americans (43 percent of those who go online) have watched a TV show on the Internet, according to a February survey by Solutions Research Group in Toronto. Just a year ago, the figure was 25 percent. Total video viewing will rise from about six hours a day today to a projected eight hours daily by 2013, Solutions forecasts, and fewer than four hours of that will be spent watching conventional TV.

The Internet is producing more and more polished original content. This summer Joss Whedon, creator of the critically acclaimed TV shows “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel,” and “Firefly,” produced “Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” (drhorrible.com), an Internet-only “TV series” that’s become an online viewing phenomenon. It’s also the kind of Internet video that viewers may wish they could easily shift to their TVs so they could watch it on their sofas.

But not everyone is convinced that Internet video and TV are about to converge. “It’s the most overrated, overhyped story in the tech world today,” says Phillip Swann, president and publisher of TVpredictions.com. “It’s simply not convenient yet.”

Mr. Swann also disputes the idea that network TV schedules are going out the window as people call up online video whenever they want it. “People like routine, they like to able to know what is going to be on at 8 o’clock,” he says.

Also standing in the way is the need for true HD-quality video to be available over the Web. “They’re a long ways from that,” Swann says.

But Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey, who declared “TV is dead” in a June white paper, says the new “video everywhere” era is just beginning to emerge. He foresees a “cocoon of video experiences that follow [people] from morning until night.” Video shipped to small devices we carry will be displayed on bigger screens that surround us, such on the table at a cafe. Portable devices will “talk with” nearby screens, such as one on the back of the airline seat in front of you, that will display your video.

By 2020, Mr. McQuivey says, video will become a kind of customized “white noise” behind users’ lives, as well as a companion “that will combine personal video, slide shows from your digital camera, music videos, and clips from favorite movies, sitcoms, and sporting events.”

While that may sound far out, just a couple of years ago users were marveling at being able to view tiny, grainy YouTube videos on their computers. Today’s online video quality already rivals that of old-fashioned analog TV. In a very short period of time, “the progress has been pretty striking,” Whitehouse says.

Although computers are rapidly becoming a mainstay of video viewing, the picture for mobile devices is less clear. According to The Nielsen Company, more than one-third of all mobile phone subscribers – some 91 million Americans – own a video-capable phone. And 6 percent of US cellphone subscribers (about 14 million) pay for a video plan.

“The jury is out on mobile, but it seems likely that some experience will emerge there,” Tulsiani says. People said consumers would never watch video on computers, but they do, he says. Now they’re saying they’ll never watch on a mobile phone. “We’ll find out if that’s true or not.”

WPIX RENEWS MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT FOR NEW YORK METS BROADCASTS

25 HD GAMES TO AIR EACH YEAR THROUGH 2011

NEW YORK, August 11, 2008– WPIX-TV (CW11) today announced a multi-year contract renewal for the rights to broadcast the New York Mets through 2011. As part of the terms, WPIX will continue to air 25 regular season Mets games each season for three years.

All games will be produced by SNY, with both home and away games available in HD. In addition, all New York Mets games broadcast on WPIX will include SAP and Closed-Captioning.

WPIX, the place for Mets baseball since 1999, has won three Emmy Awards for its live sports coverage of the Mets. For additional Mets coverage, photos and highlights, visit www.cw11.com

Broadcasting Division only bright light as Tribune posts $ 3.8 Billion 2nd Quarter loss.

Tribune's Broadcasting and Entertainment Division's second quarter operating revenues increased 4 percent to $409 million, up from $393 million in 2007. Cash operating expenses increased 8 percent, or $21 million, to $293 million. Operating cash flow was $116 million, down 4 percent from $120 million in 2007.

Television's second quarter operating revenues increased 2 percent to $292 million in 2008. Television cash operating expenses were up 7 percent, or $13 million, from last year. Television operating cash flow was $92 million, down 8 percent from $100 million in 2007.

The increase in television revenues in the second quarter of 2008 was driven by an increase in market share at most stations.

Television cash operating expenses were up $13 million primarily due to increases in broadcast rights expense, promotion, news expansion, and other cash expenses.

Radio/entertainment revenues were up $11 million and operating cash flow increased $4 million primarily as a result of gains at the Chicago Cubs. The improvement was partially due to two more home games compared to last year's second quarter.

While the Tribune Company reported a second quarter 2008 loss from continuing operations of $3.8 billion compared with income from continuing operations of $35 million in the second quarter of 2007, they were able to repay $807 million in debt principal in the quarter. Mr. Zell took over Tribune in December in a leveraged buyout that boosted the company’s debt to about $12.5 billion. Interest expense in the quarter was $211 million.

Tribune reduced expenses 6% in the quarter, in part by trimming payroll. Company wide, there were 930 fewer full-time positions in the second quarter compared with the prior quarter. The company is expected to cut at least 500 more positions this quarter.

The 2008 loss from continuing operations was due to after-tax non-cash charges of $3.8 billion to write down the Company's publishing goodwill and newspaper masthead intangible assets, nearly all of which resulted from the Company's Times Mirror acquisition in 2000.

Tribune also reported a loss from discontinued operations of $705 million in the second quarter of 2008 compared with income from discontinued operations of $1 million in the second quarter of 2007. The 2008 loss from discontinued operations was primarily related to the disposition of a controlling interest in the Company's Newsday operations.

Operating cash flow from continuing operations decreased 2 percent to $221 million in the second quarter of 2008 from $226 million in the second quarter of 2007 and included the following items:

-- A charge of $15 million for severance and special termination benefits in the 2008 quarter, compared with a charge for severance of $27 million in the 2007 quarter.

-- A charge of $5 million for stock-based compensation related to the Company's new management equity incentive plan in the 2008 quarter, compared to a charge of $8 million for stock-based compensation expense in the 2007 quarter.

-- A gain of $23 million in the 2008 quarter related to the sale of real estate.

-- A charge of $24 million in the 2007 quarter for the write-off of Los Angeles Times plant equipment related to the previously closed San Fernando Valley facility.

"Our publishing results are, for the most part, in line with industry trends, which remain consistent with what we reported in the first quarter," commented Sam Zell, chairman and CEO of Tribune Company. "Most importantly we have repaid an additional $807 million of borrowings under the Tranche X Facility from the net proceeds of our asset-backed commercial paper program and from the Newsday transaction. These payments satisfy the December 2008 portion of the Tranche X Facility, and leave us with a remaining principal balance of $593 million due in June 2009."

"Since the beginning of the year, we have launched dozens of programs and products that have the potential to make a meaningful impact on our future, and we have made significant progress in aligning our expenses with the realities of an industry in recession. We remain optimistic and are confident in the strength of our brands and the talent within our company."

CONSOLIDATED

Tribune's 2008 second quarter operating revenues decreased 6 percent, or $67 million, to $1.1 billion. Consolidated cash operating expenses were down 6 percent, or $61 million. In the second quarter of 2008, cash operating expenses included a gain of $23 million related to the sale of real estate, a charge of $15 million for severance and special termination benefits, a charge of $5 million for stock-based compensation related to the Company's new management equity incentive plan and a charge of $11 million for expense related to the Tribune Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

Cash operating expenses in the second quarter of 2007 included a charge of $24 million for the write-off of Los Angeles Times plant equipment, a charge for severance of $27 million and a charge of $8 million for stock-based compensation expense. Operating cash flow in the second quarter of 2008 decreased 2 percent to $221 million, down from $226 million in the same quarter a year ago. Operating profit before the 2008 write-downs of intangible assets was $168 million in 2008, down 4 percent from $175 million in 2007.

PUBLISHING

Publishing's second quarter operating revenues were $701 million, down 11 percent, or $83 million, from 2007. Publishing cash operating expenses were $586 million, down 12 percent, or $78 million, from 2007. Cash operating expenses in 2008 included the $23 million real estate gain and the $15 million charge for severance and special termination benefits, while cash operating expenses in 2007 included the $24 million plant equipment write-off and severance charges of $25 million. Publishing operating cash flow was $114 million, a 4 percent decline from $119 million in 2007.

Management Discussion

-- Advertising revenues decreased 15 percent, or $91 million, for the quarter.

-- Retail advertising revenues were down 8 percent, or $20 million, for the quarter, primarily due to declines in the furniture/home furnishings, department stores, hardware/home improvement stores, specialty merchandise, and electronics categories. Preprint revenues, which are primarily included in retail advertising, decreased 9 percent, or $13 million.

-- National advertising revenues were down 12 percent, or $16 million for the quarter, primarily due to decreases in the telecom/wireless and movies categories.

-- Classified advertising revenues declined 26 percent, or $55 million, for the quarter. Real estate revenues fell by 38 percent, help wanted revenues declined 33 percent and auto revenues were down 9 percent.

-- Interactive revenues, which are included in the above categories, were down 4 percent, or $2 million, due to a decrease in classified advertising.

-- Circulation revenues were down 2 percent, or $3 million, due to a decline in total net paid circulation copies for both daily and Sunday, partially offset by selective price increases. The largest revenue declines were at Chicago and Los Angeles. Circulation revenues increased at South Florida, Orlando, and Baltimore. Total net paid circulation averaged 2.2 million copies daily (Mon-Fri), off 5 percent from the prior year's second quarter, and 3.3 million copies Sunday, representing a decline of 5 percent from the prior year.

-- Cash operating expenses declined 12 percent, or $78 million, largely because 2008 included the $23 million real estate gain and 2007 included the $24 million plant equipment write-off. In addition, compensation expense declined 7 percent, or $20 million, due to 930 fewer full-time equivalent positions in the second quarter of 2008 and lower severance and special termination charges. All other cash expenses were down $11 million, or 3 percent, primarily due to lower newsprint and ink expense, outside services, and promotion expense, partially offset by higher circulation distribution expense due to the delivery of additional publications.

WRITE-DOWNS OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Due to the continuing decline in newspaper advertising revenues in 2008, the Company performed an impairment review of goodwill attributable to its newspaper reporting unit and newspaper masthead intangible assets in the second quarter of 2008. As a result of the impairment review, the Company recorded non-cash pretax impairment charges totaling $3,843 million ($3,832 million after taxes) to write down its newspaper reporting unit goodwill by $3,007 million ($3,006 million after taxes) and four newspaper mastheads by a total of $836 million ($826 million after taxes). These non-cash impairment charges do not affect the Company's operating cash flow or its compliance with its financial debt covenants.

EQUITY RESULTS

Net equity income was $18 million in the second quarter of 2008, compared with $29 million in the second quarter of 2007. The decrease was primarily due to a $13 million impairment write-down at one of the Company's interactive investments, partially offset by improvements at TV Food Network and Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

NON-OPERATING ITEMS

In the second quarter of 2008, Tribune recorded a pretax non-operating gain of $36 million from marking-to-market the Company's PHONES debt and the related Time Warner investment. This gain was partially offset by a $10 million write-down of the Company's investment in ShopLocal, LLC, which was sold on June 30, 2008. The write-down reduced the carrying value of the investment to the amount of net proceeds received from the sale. In the aggregate, non-operating items in the 2008 second quarter resulted in a pretax and after-tax gain of $26 million.

In the 2007 second quarter, Tribune recorded a pretax non-operating loss of $30 million, which included a $27 million loss from marking-to-market the Company's PHONES and the related Time Warner investment. In the aggregate, non-operating items in the 2007 second quarter resulted in an after-tax loss of $21 million.

ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL DETAILS

Corporate cash operating expenses for the 2008 second quarter decreased to $10 million from $14 million in the second quarter of 2007 primarily due to a $3 million decrease in severance and equity compensation expense.

Interest expense related to continuing operations increased to $211 million in the 2008 second quarter from $112 million in the second quarter of 2007 primarily due to higher debt levels, partially offset by lower interest rates. The Company allocated interest expense of $8.4 million and $3.4 million in the second quarters of 2008 and 2007, respectively, to discontinued operations.

Debt was $12.5 billion at the end of the 2008 second quarter and $9.3 billion at the end of the 2007 second quarter. The increase was primarily due to financing the going-private transaction completed in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Cash and cash equivalents was $161 million at the end of the 2008 second quarter and $262 million at the end of the 2007 second quarter. Capital expenditures, excluding the TMCT real estate purchase discussed below, were $21 million in the second quarter of 2008.

On July 1, 2008, the Company and Tribune Receivables LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a $300 million trade receivables securitization facility. The Company borrowed $225 million under this facility and incurred transaction costs totaling $7 million.

On July 3, 2008, the Company used the net proceeds of $218 million from the trade receivables securitization facility to repay borrowings under its Tranche X Facility and on August 1, 2008, the Company used net cash proceeds of $589 million from the Newsday transaction to repay borrowings under its Tranche X Facility.

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

In May 2008, the Company announced an agreement with a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation to form a new limited liability company ("Newsday LLC") to own and operate the Company's Newsday Media Group business ("NMG"). The Company closed on this transaction on July 29, 2008, and recorded a pretax loss of $692 million ($693 million after taxes) in the second quarter of 2008 to write down the net assets of NMG to estimated fair value. At the closing, the Company received a special distribution from the limited liability company of $612 million in cash and $18 million in prepaid rent under leases for certain NMG facilities retained by the Company. Tribune owns approximately 3 percent of the equity in Newsday LLC. The results of operations for NMG are reported as discontinued operations.

In February 2007, the Company announced an agreement to sell the New York edition of Hoy, the Company's Spanish-language daily newspaper ("Hoy, New York"). The sale of Hoy, New York closed in May 2007.

In March 2007, the Company announced an agreement to sell its Southern Connecticut Newspapers -- The Advocate (Stamford) and Greenwich Time (collectively "SCNI"). The sale of SCNI closed in November 2007, and excluded the SCNI real estate in Stamford and Greenwich, Connecticut, which was sold in a separate transaction on April 22, 2008.

During the third quarter of 2007, the Company entered into negotiations to sell the stock of one of its subsidiaries, EZ Buy and EZ Sell Recycler Corporation ("Recycler"). The sale of Recycler closed in October 2007. The results of operations for all of these business units are reported as discontinued operations.

REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

On January 30, 2008, the Company sold the real estate and related assets of its studio production lot located in Hollywood, California for $125 million.

On April 22, 2008, the Company sold the SCNI real estate in Stamford and Greenwich, Connecticut, for $30 million. The net proceeds from these transactions, along with available cash, were used to purchase the real estate formerly leased from TMCT, LLC for $175 million on April 28, 2008.

These transactions were structured as a like-kind exchange, which allowed the Company to defer income taxes on essentially all of the gains from these dispositions.

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 and other factors described in Tribune's publicly available reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which contain a discussion of various factors that may affect Tribune's business or financial results.

Such risks, trends and uncertainties, which in some instances are beyond the Company's control, include:

our ability to generate sufficient cash to service the significant debt levels and other financial obligations that resulted from the Company's going-private transaction;

our ability to comply with or obtain modifications or waivers of the financial covenants contained in our senior credit facilities, and the potential impact to operations and liquidity as a result of restrictive covenants in such senior credit facilities;

our dependency on dividends and distributions from our subsidiaries to make payments on our indebtedness; increased interest rate risk due to our higher level of variable rate indebtedness;

the ability to maintain our subchapter S corporation status;

changes in advertising demand, circulation levels and audience shares;

consumer, advertiser and general market acceptance of various new marketing and product initiatives that the Company has introduced or may pursue in the future and the Company's ability to implement such initiatives without disruption or other adverse impact on the Company's business and operations;

regulatory and judicial rulings, including changes in tax laws or policies; availability and cost of broadcast rights; competition and other economic conditions; changes in newsprint prices;

changes in the Company's credit ratings and interest rates;

changes in accounting standards;

adverse results from litigation, governmental investigations or tax related proceedings or audits;

the effect of labor strikes, lock-outs and negotiations; the effect of acquisitions, joint ventures, investments and divestitures;

the effect of derivative transactions; the Company's reliance on third-party vendors for various services; and other events beyond the Company's control that may result in unexpected adverse operating results.

These factors could cause actual future performance to differ materially from current expectations. Tribune 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.

This press release is being furnished to the SEC through a Form 8-K. Financial tables to this press release are included in the exhibit to the Form 8-K and are also available on the Company's website. The Company's next 10-Q report to be filed with the SEC may contain updates to the information included in this release.

TRIBUNE is America's largest employee-owned media company, operating businesses in publishing, interactive and broadcasting.

In publishing, Tribune's leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Sun (Baltimore), South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, Hartford Courant, Morning Call and Daily Press.

The Company's broadcasting group operates 23 television stations, WGN America 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. At Tribune we take what we do seriously and with a great deal of pride. We also value the creative spirit and are nurturing a corporate culture that doesn't take itself too seriously.

    (1) "Operating profit" excludes interest and dividend income, interest
       expense, equity income and losses, non-operating items and income
       taxes.  "Operating cash flow" is defined as operating profit before
       depreciation and amortization and write-downs of intangible assets.
       "Cash operating expenses" are defined as operating expenses before
       depreciation and amortization and write-downs of intangible assets.
       References to individual daily newspapers include their related
       businesses.

SOURCE Tribune Company

http://www.tribune.com

TheWB.com Set to Launch on Aug. 27

They've signed up Johnson & Johnson as a charter sponsor, Comcast, will offer classic WB series via its video-on-demand service

Aug 7, 2008

-By John Consoli
MEDIA WEEK

TheWB.com, now in Beta testing, will launch on August 27, offering classic series that aired on the now defunct WB TV network along with new web series.

Warner Bros. Television Group is promoting the new site as “the next great network that won’t be televised.” But cable operator Comcast, will offer classic WB series via its video-on-demand service.

The WB.com has signed up Johnson & Johnson as a charter sponsor.

The online video network will offer classic WB series Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Veronica Mars, Smallville, Gilmore Girls, Everwood, Roswell, The Wayans Bros., Friends and The OC, along with new series from show creators McG and Josh Schwartz. The McG series Sorority Fever will premiere on the site on Sept. 8. Schwartz is producer of the current CW show Gossip Girl.

As part of the rollout, The WB.com will feature an original application that will launch on Facebook Platform that will allow integration of Facebook’s social network onto The WB.com, and offer TheWB.com’s content on Facebook.

TheWB.com’s shows will also be distributed free across the Internet on Comcast’s Filmcast.com and Comcast will make available more than 1,000 TV episodes from Warner Bros. library that will be available on the cable operator’s video-on-demand service. AOL will also feature a WB.com branded channel that will stream full episodes of classic WB series.

In a statement, WBTVG said TheWB.com "affirms its new media business strategy to build new brands and programming destinations, create compelling original online content and to distribute that content on all platforms in ways that best serve consumers and advertisers.”

There have been undercurrents that WBTVG is starting The WB.com because executives at the company are not pleased that when The WB Network and UPN ceased to operate two years ago and merged, the WB brand, which was built up over more than a decade while the network was on the air, disappeared from site.

WBTVG president Bruce Rosenblum has denied it, but there are also rumors that the company is starting the Web site as a trial balloon, and if successful in drawing in its targeted 18-34 female audience in significant numbers, that the company might start a WB cable TV network.

Warner Bros. parent company, Time Warner, also owns Time Warner Cable, and the new WBTVG partnership with Comcast could mean an amicable relationship with that cable operator also, giving a WB network launch on cable a good base with two major cable operators.

Other original programming planned for TheWB.com includes Chadam, a 3D animation project from artist Alex Pardee and producer Jason Lee; a reality series from Gary Auerbach (Laguna Beach and Newport Harbor) about a girl from Orange County, Calif., who swaps lives with a low-income Los Angeles teen; and High Drama Against All Odds, an unscripted series from James Percelay which documents the production of a big-budget high school musical.

Original series include Blue Water High, an Australian surf drama; Dangerous, about a female government official who infiltrates a car-theft ring; and jPod, a soap opera set in the world of a video game design company.

A parting of the programming ways for networks, cable

While broadcasters stick with reality this summer, and have some hits, cable puts in a strong showing with scripted shows.

By Scott Collins, Channel Island
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
August 4, 2008

AND THEN, the audience parted.

Here's what has happened to TV viewing this summer: People who want reality shows have stuck with the broadcast networks. Viewers who prefer scripted series have migrated to the cable channels. And in terms of ratings, the once-vast gap between the two worlds is shrinking like never before.


That's an oversimplification, but not by much. Consider this statistic: Four of the top five shows on network TV so far this summer are reality programs, including the No. 1 series, NBC's "America's Got Talent," according to Nielsen Media Research. Meanwhile, eight out of the 10 most-watched programs on ad-supported cable are scripted dramas.


The top-rated series on cable, TNT's crime procedural "The Closer," has drawn an average of 7.4 million total viewers since its Season 4 premiere on July 14. That number, although a bit low to be called a major hit by broadcast standards, is higher than any big network's average prime-time audience this summer, despite the fact that TNT is available in fewer U.S. homes than its broadcast competitors.


"There's more good television this summer than there has been in years past," Michael Wright, senior vice president at Turner Entertainment Networks, said in a telephone interview. Wright oversees programming for TNT, TBS and other channels.


The aggressive foray into scripted programming has led to a renaissance for basic-cable networks such as NBC Universal's USA, the top-rated prime-time cable network with five current original series including "Burn Notice" and the new "In Plain Sight." The benefits have even filtered down, on a much smaller scale, to AMC, which logged record ratings last month for the Season 2 return of the Emmy-nominated ad-industry drama " Mad Men." ABC Family is having its best results ever for an original series with the teen-pregnancy drama "The Secret Life of the American Teenager."


"I think network is going to take a page from the cablers and start developing scripted for summer as well," Bonnie Hammer, who runs USA and Sci-Fi for NBC Universal, told me. "I don't think they will be able to get along over the next several years without going toe to toe with us in the summer."


In fact, broadcast executives, seeing the strong ratings that cable posted last summer with series like "The Closer" and premieres such as FX's thriller " Damages," probably would have mounted a stronger challenge this year on the scripted front. But the three-month writers strike got in the way. By the time the walkout ended in February, networks were so busy scrambling to finish their regular seasons and prepare for fall that there wasn't time to worry about a summer strategy.


Sticking with unscripted series has had its advantages. ABC, Fox and NBC each have at least one reality hit, and each has more viewers this summer than last. ABC found a modest breakthrough with the obstacle-course game "Wipeout," the summer's No. 1 new show, averaging 13 million viewers. Returning reality shows, especially Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" and " So You Think You Can Dance," remain popular among young adults, the audience segment most-sought by advertisers.


Broadcast executives point out that cable still benefits from a double standard. Preston Beckman, Fox's scheduling guru, cites the example of CBS' racy '70s drama " Swingtown," which won critical acclaim but has drawn disappointing ratings.


" 'Swingtown' would be considered a massive hit on cable, whereas most cable hits would be counted as failures" on network TV, Beckman said. "I don't know how to compare the two."


But the networks also ordered a number of reality series that viewers simply didn't want to see, including ABC's "High School Musical: Get in the Picture," NBC's " Nashville Star" and CBS' "Greatest American Dog."


"They'll throw anything but their bar mitzvah videos on," Beckman joked of unscripted premieres. "There's so much of it on."


The somewhat surprising failure of "Get in the Picture," a reality contest based on Disney Channel's runaway hit "High School Musical," taught ABC a few lessons.


"We thought ['Get in the Picture'] would do better than it did," said ABC Entertainment Executive Vice President Jeff Bader. "The issue there is, we haven't been able to translate the Disney Channel show audience to the ABC platform."


Of course, once the broadcasters return with new fall lineups, all bets will be off for the cable networks. Last year, "Mad Men" saw its already-modest ratings sink further in September. The timing could be especially critical this time around, because series such as "The Closer" ended up premiering a month or so later than originally planned -- again, due to the writers strike. That could put certain cable series in the cross hairs of broadcast programmers.


Even so, the scripted/unscripted divide between cable and broadcast will likely grow. The cable networks are looking to expand original programming aggressively beyond the summertime.


"In order to grow and keep growing, you kind of have no choice," said Turner's Wright.


On Labor Day, TNT will premiere "Raising the Bar," the latest courtroom drama from producer Steven Bochco. The show will have to scrape for viewers alongside a raft of new episodes from network crime shows and procedurals.


"The competition is much more fierce in the fall," Wright acknowledged. But TNT is still forging ahead with a long-term plan to devote the vast majority of its midweek prime-time lineup to original fare.


USA this fall is bringing back Debra Messing in "The Starter Wife," which first appeared as a miniseries last year.


"We decided it is a show that's big enough that it could also live outside the protective summer" environment, Hammer said.


"We're now looking at all four quarters and what makes sense, because I think we've truly come of age where we can place original product almost anywhere during the year with a good chance, if it's quality work, that it could succeed."


Such an approach is hastening the day -- which has already arrived for many young viewers brought up in multi-channel households with DVRs -- when broadcast and cable distinctions melt away completely, and TV becomes just TV.


"Three or four years ago, a guy like me had to really convince people to do cable," Wright said, referring to the hesitation of many top actors and writer-producers. Now, "more and more people I know don't make the distinction. They just have the 10 to 15 channels [they watch] programmed into their set-top box, or their mind."

scott.collins@latimes.com