NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 2005--The New York Times today announced that on Feb. 5, Super Bowl Sunday, it will launch "PLAY: The New York Times Sports Magazine," which will be distributed in all editions of the newspaper. Mark Bryant, an award-winning editor formerly of Outside magazine, will edit PLAY.

"PLAY is going to be an ambitious magazine that celebrates, instructs and gets behind the scenes to show how sports are really played today," said Mr. Bryant. "It is a magazine for all sports enthusiasts, from serious fans to those who lean more toward playing sports than watching them. It's also for people who simply love the great stories that sports offer us: rich, dramatic, deeply human stories."

The Times plans to publish three additional issues of PLAY in the fall. Each issue will feature work by some of the country's finest writers and photographers. All the writing and photography for PLAY will also be available on the newspaper's Web site, NYTimes.com.

"We continue to see strong demand for sports news and information, and PLAY will meet the needs of advertisers and our readers," said Jyll F. Holzman, senior vice president of advertising for The New York Times. "PLAY will appeal to marketers who want an engaging environment that reaches sports fans seeking more information about their favorite teams, athletes and pastimes."

As part of a bonus distribution planned for the magazine in 2006, more than 150,000 additional copies of PLAY will be nationally distributed outside New York to an audience of well-educated, affluent readers.

About The New York Times Company

The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2004 revenues of $3.3 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, nine network-affiliated television stations, two New York City radio stations and 35 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. For the fifth consecutive year, the Company was ranked No. 1 in the publishing industry in Fortune's 2005 list of America's Most Admired Companies. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com and www.nytco.com/community

CONTACT:
The New York Times Company
Diane McNulty, 212-556-5244
mcnuldc@nytimes.com

Pat Eisemann, 212-556-8719
eisemp@nytimes.com