NOW Magazine Expands Omnichannel Audience by 22% from Q4 2018 to Q4 2019

Investment in high-quality content and increased digital presence drive readership growth for the nearly 40-year-old pioneering publication

TORONTO, Feb. 13, 2020 /CNW/ - Media Central Corporation Inc. ("MediaCentral") (CSE:FLYY, FSE:3AT) today announced impressive growth for its wholly owned subsidiaries NOW Magazine and nowtoronto.com ("NOW") when comparing audience data from October to December in 2018 against the same period in 2019.

The popular news and lifestyle brand achieved significant growth for its digital property with a user* increase of 26% at nowtoronto.com during the fourth quarter of 2019 versus 2018.

NOW's weekly print issue also reported year-over-year growth for the final quarter of 2019. The newspaper saw a 12% increase in readership compared to the same period in 2018, with an average of an additional 176,000 Torontonians picking up the publication at over 740 locations each month.

Factors contributing to the growth in audience include an aggressive seven-day news cycle with fresh content posted multiple times daily; a dedicated focus on social media driving increased traffic to nowtoronto.com and original features that speak to issues directly effecting the people of Toronto including homelessness, real estate woes and public transportation.

"NOW's impressive 22 percent overall audience growth for the recent quarter is a testament to our commitment for providing original and informed cutting-edge journalism. As MediaCentral moves to execute phase one of our digitization strategy we are especially thrilled to report the significant increase of NOW's digital audience," said Brian Kalish, CEO of MediaCentral, who took control of NOW in Q4 of 2019. "The engaged and influential digital following of NOW creates some serious opportunities for us to monetize this iconic publication, creating best practices as we move forward in consolidating the 100 million strong readers of alternative titles across North America."

Summary of audience growth comparing Q4 2019 to Q4 2020:

• Print: From 1,460,000 average monthly readers to 1,636,000 average monthly readers; 12 percent increase
• Digital: From 1,993,772 users to 2,516,965; 26.2 percent increase
• Digital: From 2,673,962 sessions to 3,154,856; 18 percent increase

*Users are defined as the number of unique visitors to a web site based on browser cookies.

Sources
Print - Vividata Winter 2018 Report, Vividata Winter 2019 Report
Digital – Google analytics (October-December 2018 versus October-December 2019)

About NOW Central Communications Inc.
NOW Central owns and operates NOW Magazine and nowtoronto.com. NOW is Toronto's news and entertainment voice, published in print every Thursday, and daily at nowtoronto.com. Reaching over 25 million annual readers, NOW has been a leading publication, defining and pioneering the independent and alternative voice for more than 38 years. NOW Central Communications Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Central Corporation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT).

nowtoronto.com Instagram: @nowtoronto Twitter: @nowtoronto Facebook: facebook.com/nowmagazine

About Media Central Corporation Inc.
Media Central Corporation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT) is an independent media company situated to acquire and develop high-quality publishing assets starting with the recent acquisition of NOW Communications Inc. and the launch of digital cannabis platform CannCentral.com. MediaCentral is consolidating and digitally monetizing the over 100 million coveted and premium readers of the 100 alternative weekly newspapers across North America, creating the most powerful untapped audience of influencers.

For more information: www.mediacentralcorp.com

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expect", "potential", "believe", "intend" or the negative of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to internal expectations, expectations with respect to estimated margins, cost structures, and cost structures in the media industry. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; marketing costs; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments involving; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the media industry generally, income tax and regulatory matters; the ability of MediaCentral to implement its business strategies; competition; currency and interest rate fluctuations and other risks.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive and should carefully review the various risks and uncertainties identified in the Company's filings on SEDAR and EDGAR. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities laws.

Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/now-magazine-expands-omnichannel-audience-by-22-from-q4-2018-to-q4-2019-301004220.html

SOURCE Media Central Corporation Inc.

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2020/13/c6577.html