The "Times" purchase of "The Tribune" also allowed its circulation area to be expanded into Polk County, placing it in competition with other newspapers such as "The Lakeland Ledger" and "The Polk County Democrat", as well as into the south central region of the state known as the Florida Heartland. In the case of the latter, the "Times" published "Highlands Today", which was a daily news supplement of "The Tribune" for readers in Highlands County. The "Times" sold the paper in 2016 to Sun Coast Media Group.