Tribune Publishing Company announces five-year affiliate agreement with Cars.com

Tribune Publishing Company has announced that it expects to enter into a five-year agreement with Classified Ventures, LLC to extend its affiliate agreement with Cars.com. The agreement is contingent upon the closing of the sale of CV to Gannett Co., Inc. by the equity partners, which is expected to close by the end of 2014, subject to customary regulatory reviews.

Upon the close of the sale, Tribune Publishing will enter into a five-year affiliate agreement with CV that will allow it to continue to sell Cars.com products and services exclusively in the eight key markets in which Tribune Publishing operates, including: Los Angeles; Chicago; Central- and South Florida; Baltimore; Hartford, Ct.; Allentown, Pa. and Newport News, Va.

CV, whose primary asset is the online car shopping website Cars.com, is a joint venture among A. H. Belo, The McClatchy Company, Tribune Media Company, Graham Holdings Company and Gannett Co., Inc. The equity partners have entered into a definitive agreement to sell their entire stake in CV to Gannett. Tribune Publishing Company is not an equity partner and will not receive proceeds from the sale.

"Upon closing, this agreement will represent significant recurring revenue for our digital classified business," said Jack Griffin, chief executive officer of Tribune Publishing. "We've had a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Cars.com and this agreement ensures auto dealers in key markets will continue to benefit from the scale and reach of our prominent print and digital properties."