Zillow.com(R) and 11 Newspaper Companies Form Online Real Estate Partnership
Alliance will extend local listings of 282 newspapers to powerful and growing national real estate site.

November 13, 2007: 12:00 AM EST


SEATTLE, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading real estate Web site Zillow.com and 11 newspaper publishing companies representing 282 newspapers nationwide announced plans today for a strategic partnership to extend local classified advertising such as for-sale listings and open house information to Zillow's online platform.

Local advertisers who place their print and online listings with the newspapers will be able to choose to have their listings and open house ads also displayed on Zillow, one of the largest online real estate sites. Four million people visit Zillow every month, with 70 percent buying or selling a home now, or planning to buy or sell a home in the next one to two years.

Home buyers on Zillow in turn will see a more comprehensive set of for-sale listings and open house details in their market. The 282 newspapers and their online sites provide the primary source of real estate advertising in their markets. Newspapers will have the ability to use the Zillow platform to enhance their online sites with rich real estate content and information on homes, neighborhoods and value trends via Zillow's technology.

Zillow and the newspaper companies said they expect to launch the alliance and roll out the new features in the first half of 2008. More newspaper companies are expected to join the network prior to launch.

The newspaper companies included so far in the consortium are Hearst Newspapers; Journal Register Company; Lee Enterprises, Incorporated; Media General, Inc.; MediaNews Group, Inc.; Morris Communications Company, LLC; Paddock Publications; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; The E.W. Scripps Company; Times-Shamrock Communications and The Day Publishing Company. Newspapers include major market dailies such as The San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, The Tampa Tribune and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Reading the weekend real estate section is a ritual that many enjoy and to brokers and agents, the paper is a core marketing tool. Now, the process of real estate discovery will be further integrated into the online world. We are honored that this consortium of newspaper companies has chosen Zillow as the partner to fast-track their presence in the digital real estate world," said Lloyd Frink, Zillow president. "Research shows that 80 percent of home buyers use the Internet in the home-buying process. That, combined with Zillow's audience of engaged real estate enthusiasts, creates a huge opportunity for local brokerages looking to expand their reach online."

Speaking on behalf of the newspaper consortium, Lincoln Millstein, senior vice president of Hearst Newspapers, and Gregory P. Schermer, vice president for interactive media at Lee Enterprises, described the partnership as a significant step in the national aggregation of real estate listings online.

"The tremendous local reach of our newspapers and online sites, coupled with our strong local sales forces, provides a powerful springboard for this partnership with Zillow," Millstein said.

Schermer added, "Together with Zillow, we bring a unique and compelling set of online marketing tools to enable local brokers and agents to distinguish their listings and abilities. The result will be a compelling value proposition for advertisers and online users, which we believe will provide long-term opportunities for revenue growth."

Many of the newspaper companies in the planned Zillow agreement are part of a newspaper consortium, which formed a year ago. The consortium began with a strategic partnership with Yahoo! for online recruitment advertising. It has since expanded to include common online advertising network distribution, online text ads, and content sharing between Yahoo! and consortium newspapers. This new initiative extends the alliance of these newspaper companies to the real estate sector. Today's announcement is a first-of-its-kind partnership between online and offline real estate information channels.

Zillow.com

Zillow.com is an online real estate community where homeowners, buyers, sellers, and real estate agents and professionals find and share vital information about homes, for free. Launched in early 2006 with Zestimate(R) values and data on millions of U.S. homes, Zillow has since opened the site to community input, data and dialogue, including "Home Q&A." Zillow's goal is to help people become smarter about real estate -- what homes are worth, what's for sale, and what local experts have to say about real estate and individual homes. One of the most-visited real estate Web sites, Zillow was the only online company named by Advertising Age magazine to its 2006 "Marketing 50" list of the most powerful consumer brands. Zillow is headquartered in Seattle and has raised $87 million in funding. Zillow.com, Zillow, and Zestimate are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc.

Hearst Newspapers

Hearst Newspapers is a unit of Hearst Corporation (http://www.hearst.com), one of the nation's largest diversified media companies. It's major interests include ownership of 12 daily and 31 weekly newspapers, including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, and Albany Times Union; as well as interests in an additional 47 daily and 37 non-daily newspapers owned by MediaNews Group; nearly 200 magazines around the world, including Cosmopolitan and O, The Oprah Magazine; 29 television stations through Hearst-Argyle Television which reach a combined 18% of U.S. viewers; ownership in leading cable networks, including Lifetime, A&E, The History Channel and ESPN; as well as business publishing, including a joint venture interest in Fitch Ratings; Internet businesses, television production, newspaper features distribution and real estate.

Journal Register Company

Journal Register Company is a leading U.S. media company. Journal Register Company owns 22 daily newspapers and 345 non-daily publications. Journal Register Company currently operates 222 individual Web sites that are affiliated with the company's daily newspapers, non-daily publications and its network of employment Web sites. These Web sites can be accessed at http://www.JournalRegister.com. All of the company's operations are strategically clustered in six geographic areas: Greater Philadelphia; Michigan; Connecticut; Greater Cleveland; and the Capital-Saratoga and Mid-Hudson regions of New York.

Lee Enterprises

Lee Enterprises, Incorporated , is a premier provider of local news, information and advertising in primarily midsize markets, with 51 daily newspapers and a joint interest in five others, rapidly growing online sites and more than 300 weekly newspapers and specialty publications in 23 states. Lee's newspapers have circulation of 1.6 million daily and 1.9 million Sunday, reaching more than four million readers daily. Lee's online sites attract more than 11 million unique visitors monthly, and Lee's weekly publications are distributed to more than 4.5 million households. Lee's newspaper markets include St. Louis, Mo.; Lincoln, Neb.; Madison, Wis.; Billings, Mont.; Bloomington, Ill.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Napa, Calif. Lee is based in Davenport, Iowa. For more information about Lee, please visit http://www.lee.net.

Media General, Inc.

Media General is a multimedia company operating leading newspapers, television stations and online enterprises primarily in the Southeastern United States. The company's publishing assets include three metropolitan newspapers, The Tampa Tribune, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Winston-Salem Journal; 22 daily community newspapers in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina; and more than 150 weekly newspapers and other publications. The company's broadcasting assets include 23 network-affiliated television stations that reach more than 32 percent of the television households in the Southeast and nearly 9.5 percent of those in the United States. The company's interactive media assets include more than 75 online enterprises that are associated with its newspapers and television stations. Media General also owns a 33 percent interest in SP Newsprint Company, a manufacturer of recycled newsprint.

MediaNews Group, Inc.

MediaNews Group, Inc. is the nation's fourth largest newspaper company, with headquarters in Denver, Colo. MediaNews Group and its affiliated companies publish 58 daily newspapers and approximately 100 non-daily publications in 13 states. In addition, MediaNews Group owns a CBS affiliate in Anchorage, Alaska and four radio stations in Texas. MediaNews Group Interactive maintains Web sites for all of its daily newspapers and an umbrella site, newschoice.com

Paddock Publications, Inc.

Paddock Publications Inc., is the third largest newspaper in Illinois, serving Chicago's growing suburbs. Based in Arlington Heights, IL, Paddock is privately held and publishes the Daily Herald newspaper, covering more than 100 communities with localized editions and a circulation of more than 150,000. Paddock's Web site, dailyherald.com, receives 10 million page views per month with more than 75 percent unique viewers to its online content. Paddock has several non-daily publications, including Reflejos, a 100,000 circulation weekly bilingual newspaper serving Latinos in the suburbs of Chicago, and Beep, a 30,000 circulation weekly youth-oriented publication with a companion Web site, Beepcentral.com.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

In addition to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the newspaper group includes the Trib P.M., Valley News Dispatch, Valley Independent, Daily Courier, Leader Times, Blairsville Dispatch and Gateway Newspapers.

The E. W. Scripps Company

The E. W. Scripps Company is a diverse and growing media enterprise with interests in national cable networks, newspaper publishing, broadcast television stations, interactive media, and licensing and syndication. The company's portfolio of media properties includes: Scripps Networks, with such brands as HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living and Great American Country; daily and community newspapers in 17 markets and the Washington-based Scripps Media Center, home to the Scripps Howard News Service; 10 broadcast TV stations, including six ABC-affiliated stations, three NBC affiliates and one independent; Scripps Interactive Media, including leading online search and comparison shopping services, Shopzilla and uSwitch; and United Media, a leading worldwide licensing and syndication company that is the home of Peanuts, Dilbert and approximately 150 other features and comics.

Times-Shamrock Communications

Times-Shamrock Communications newspapers include The Times-Tribune in Scranton, PA, and The Citizens' Voice in Wilkes-Barre. Others in Pennsylvania are The Daily Review in Towanda, The News Item in Shamokin and The Standard Speaker in Hazleton. Times-Shamrock also owns The Progress-Index in Petersburg, Va.

The Day Publishing Company
The Day Publishing Company is based in New London, CT.

Forward-looking statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties concerning Zillow's and the newspaper companies' proposed transaction and its impact on their strategic and operational plans. Actual events or results may differ materially. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the possibility that the planned subsequent implementations described may be delayed, may not ultimately be implemented, or if implemented may not be successful; and the anticipated benefits described to the companies may not be achieved. More information about potential factors that could affect business and financial results of the public companies involved in this planned transaction are included in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (http://www.sec.gov), including in their Annual Reports on Form 10-K.