Young Broadcasting Reports 365% Increase in Second Quarter Operating Income Based on 11.6% Net Revenue Growth

Young Broadcasting Inc. ("YBI" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:YBTVA)today announced significantly improved results for the second quarterand six months ended June 30, 2006 over the prior year.

Vincent Young's Comments:

"I am extremely pleased with our second quarter results because itconfirms our belief in our ability to maximize our local ad revenuethrough new sales programs, improve performance at KRON-TV and manageour expenses in the most effective ways possible," said Vincent Young,Chairman of Young Broadcasting Inc. He added, "The improvement in ouroperations bodes well for continued positive year-over-yearcomparisons through the remainder of 2006."

"To put this quarter's performance in perspective," Mr. Youngcontinued, "not only did the Company dramatically beat the samequarter last year, but non-political revenue was virtually the same asthe second quarter of 2004 and 5.9% higher than the second quarter of2002. Our strong local sales initiatives and retransmission consentrevenue have made up the $2.2 million decline in quarterly networkcompensation between 2002 and 2006."

Second Quarter and Six Month Results

Young Broadcasting's second quarter results were in markedcontrast to a number of other reporting companies that own televisionstations who reported down or mixed results. Young Broadcasting's netrevenue grew by 11.6% to $56.8 million during the three month periodended June 30, 2006 compared with $50.9 million in the prior year.Core revenues (all revenue excluding political) were up 5% andsignificantly contributed to the Company's 2006 second quarter. Muchof this strength can be attributed to the innovative "Third Leg" salesprogram the Company has been aggressively implementing at itsstations. Political revenue for the second quarter was $4.8 million in2006 as compared with $844,000 in 2005.

The quarter also saw the Company's station operating performance("SOP") (a non-GAAP measure, see below for definition of this term)rise 51.3% to $17.1 million in the 2006 second quarter as compared to$11.3 million in the prior year period. Station operating expenseswere flat for the quarter confirming the success of management'sefforts to keep a tight rein on expenses.

Young Broadcasting also benefited from a resurgence in the SanFrancisco market. KRON-TV, the Company's major independent station inSan Francisco, saw a second quarter 2006 increase in gross local,national and political revenues of 26.1% compared to the prior year,significantly outpacing the overall market growth of 16.4% during theperiod.

For the six month period ended June 30, 2006, Young Broadcastingnet revenue increased 9.1% to $105.1 million as compared to $96.4million for the same period in 2005. SOP jumped 53.9% for the sixmonth period to $25.7 million from $16.7 million in 2005.

Other highlights for the second quarter and six month periodincluded:

-- In May, Young Broadcasting significantly increased the Company's liquidity by successfully completing a $50 million incremental borrowing and amending its Senior Credit Facility to reduce the minimum cash covenant to $10 million from the prior level of $35 million. Cash on hand at June 30, 2006 therefore increased to $107.9 million as compared to $55. 8 million at March 31, 2006.

-- Automotive revenue across the group was up 3% in the second quarter of 2006 compared to the same period a year earlier.

-- KRON-TV continues to prepare for the September 5, 2006 launch of MyNetwork, which the station announced an affiliation with in March 2006. Initial response from the advertising market to the new network's innovative drama programming has been very strong.

-- Local news continues to be a key component for the Company's success as three stations - KLFY-TV (Lafayette), KELO-TV and KWQC-TV (Davenport) - were the No. 1 station in their markets in household (HH) ratings for all of the newscasts they air. Overall, seven of YBI's stations have a newscast that is number one in at least one daypart.

-- The Company has aggressively targeted internet-based sales projects based on the strong local circulation its stations' websites enjoy.

-- The Company now has agreements for delivery of news and weather information via wireless application. YBI stations can now provide branded weather forecasts and live radar images directly to subscriber cell phones in many of the markets they serve.

-- KWQC-TV and WBAY-TV have implemented a breaking news internet home page. During major breaking news, these stations provide live streaming coverage of the event. YBI expects that the same system will be in use at all YBI stations by September 30, 2006.

-- WBAY-TV was honored with its second National Edward R. Murrow Award in the last five years. The station won in the "Best Feature Story" category (small market television).

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

Station operating performance ("SOP") is not a financial measurecalculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles(GAAP) in the United States. The Company defines SOP as operatingincome (loss), plus non-cash compensation to employees, corporateoverhead, depreciation and amortization. The Company believes that SOPis useful information for investors because it enables them to assessthe Company's television stations' performance in a manner similar tothe method used by management and it provides a measure that can beused to analyze, value and compare companies in the televisionindustry. A limitation of this measure, however, is that it excludesdepreciation and amortization, which represent the periodic costs ofcapitalized tangible and intangible assets used in the Company'sbusiness. It also excludes the cost of corporate overhead required tomanage the group of stations owned by the Company and non-cashcompensation of employees which principally represents the Company'scontribution of stock to the 401(k) plan offered to employees and thecosts recognized from certain stock compensation transactions.

SOP should not be regarded as an alternative to either operatingincome (loss) or net loss as an indicator of operating performance orto the statement of cash flows as a measure of liquidity, nor shouldit be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financialmeasures prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company believes thatoperating income (loss) is the most directly comparable GAAP financialmeasure to the SOP financial measure. Reconciliations of historicalpresentations of SOP to operating income (loss), its most directlycomparable GAAP financial measure, are provided in the attachment tothis release.

Second Quarter Conference Call

Young Broadcasting Inc. ("YBI") (NASDAQ: YBTVA) has scheduled aconference call for Wednesday, August 9, 2006, at 11:00 AM (ET). Youmay participate in the call by dialing 888-552-9135 (Passcode: YOUNG,Leader: Vincent Young). This will enable you to listen to thepresentation. At the end of the presentation you will have theopportunity to participate in a Q&A session with Vincent Young, CEO ofYoung Broadcasting Inc., and with James Morgan, the company's CFO.

You may listen to a live webcast of the call via the Company'swebsite at www.youngbroadcasting.com. The archive will be availablefor replay through September 9, 2006. The webcast is also beingdistributed through the Thomson StreetEvents Network. Individualinvestors can listen to the call at www.earnings.com, Thomson'sindividual investor portal, powered by StreetEvents. Institutionalinvestors can access the call via Thomson StreetEvents(www.streetevents.com), a password-protected event management site.You may listen to a telephone replay of the entire call by dialing866-463-4974 through August 16, 2006.

About Young Broadcasting

Young Broadcasting owns ten television stations and the nationaltelevision representation firm, Adam Young Inc. Five stations areaffiliated with the ABC Television Network (WKRN-TV - Nashville, TN,WTEN-TV - Albany, NY, WRIC-TV - Richmond, VA, WATE-TV - Knoxville, TN,and WBAY-TV - Green Bay, WI), three are affiliated with the CBSTelevision Network (WLNS-TV - Lansing, MI, KLFY-TV - Lafayette, LA andKELO-TV - Sioux Falls, SD) and one is affiliated with the NBCTelevision Network (KWQC-TV - Davenport, IA). KRON-TV - San Francisco,CA is the largest independent station in the U.S. and the onlyindependent VHF station in its market. KRON-TV will become a MyNetworkTV affiliate with the launch of the new network's programming onSeptember 5, 2006. The Company also operates a separate station usingits digital broadcast facilities in Sioux Falls, South Dakota whichwill also begin broadcasting MyNetwork on September 5, 2006.

Any statements in this press release that are not historical factsare forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E ofthe Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Readers are advisedthat such forward-looking statements are subject to risks anduncertainties that could significantly affect actual results fromthose expressed in any such statements. Readers are directed to YoungBroadcasting's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December31, 2005, as well as its other filings from time to time with theSecurities and Exchange Commission, for a discussion of such risks anduncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, among otherthings, the impact of changes in national and regional economies, theability to successfully integrate acquired television stations(including achievement of synergies and cost reductions), pricingfluctuations in local and national advertising, volatility inprogramming costs and geopolitical factors. Statements included inthis press release are based upon information known to the Company asof the date of this press release, and the Company assumes noobligation to update or revise the forward-looking statementscontained in this press release, except as otherwise required byapplicable federal securities laws.

YOUNG BROADCASTING INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)


Six Months Three Months
Ended June 30, Ended June 30,
------------------------ ------------------------
2005 2006 2005 2006
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
(dollars in thousands, (dollars in thousands,
except per share data) except per share data)


Net revenue $ 96,375 $ 105,141 $ 50,866 $ 56,755
Operating
expenses 88,033 88,763 43,174 44,363
Depreciation and
amortization 12,436 9,521 6,044 4,728
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Operating (loss)
income (4,094) 6,857 1,648 7,664
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

Interest expense,
net (31,237) (32,340) (15,413) (16,480)
Non-cash change
in market
valuation of
swaps (658) - 1,165 -
Loss on
extinguishments
of debt (18,626) - (18,626) -
Other (expenses)
income, net (303) (1,558) (148) (330)
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
(50,824) (33,898) (33,022) (16,810)
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Loss from
continuing
operations
before income
taxes (54,918) (27,041) (31,374) (9,146)
Income tax
expense (11,794) (14,583) (4,779) (1,842)
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Loss from
continuing
operations (66,712) (41,624) (36,153) (10,988)

Income (loss) from
discontinued
operations, net
of tax, including
gain on sale of
$11.2 million for
the six months
ended
June 30, 2005 11,207 - (1) -
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Net loss $ (55,505) $ (41,624) $ (36,154) $ (10,988)
=========== =========== =========== ===========
Net loss per
common share -
basic $ (2.76) $ (1.98) $ (1.80) $ (0.52)
=========== =========== =========== ===========
Weighted average
shares - basic 20,089,076 21,071,672 20,121,791 21,223,347
=========== =========== =========== ===========

Other Financial
Data:

Amortization
of program
license
rights 10,606 $ 13,873 5,271 7,017
Payments for
program
license
liabilities 10,803 13,239 5,351 6,540
Capital
expenditures 2,458 2,433 1,231 1,495

Reconciliation of
Station Operating
Performance to
Operating (Loss)
Income:

Operating (loss)
income (4,094) 6,857 1,648 7,664
Plus:
Non-cash
compensation 1,176 2,283 557 1,267
Depreciation
and
amortization 12,436 9,521 6,044 4,728
Corporate
overhead 7,154 7,044 3,064 3,418
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Station Operating
Performance $ 16,672 $ 25,705 $ 11,313 $ 17,077
=========== =========== =========== ===========