Quarterly Report

NYTCo. Digital Ad Rev Down In Q4

Digital advertising revenue across The New York Times Co.’s digital properties — primarily NYTimes.com, BostonGlobe.com, Boston.com, About.com — fell 4.9% to $95.7 million from $100.6 million. The company also reported a total of 406,000 paid subscribers for its digital subscription packages.
By
NetNewsCheck,

In the year that The New York Times put up its metered paywall and its corporate cousin The Boston Globe launched its own pay site, revenue was down for the company’s digital properties, according to fourth-quarter and year-end earnings released today.

Digital ad revenue at the company’s digital properties — NYTimes.com, BostonGlobe.com, Boston.com, About.com and other sites — fell to $95.7 million from $100.6 million, down 4.9%, due primarily to declines in cost-per-click and display advertising at the About Group.

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Revenue at New York Times Co.’s News Media Group were up 5.3% to $71.1 million from $67.5 million due to growth in national and retail display advertising. Digital ad revenue as a percentage of total advertising revenue were 26.7% for the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with 26.1% in the same period a year prior.

For the year, total digital advertising revenue dipped 0.8% to $338.7 million from $341.4 million, also dragged down by the About Group.

“In 2011, we made significant strides in our strategy to transform and rebalance our company,” Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Our fourth-quarter results demonstrate the continued focus on building The Times' digital subscription base and developing a new robust consumer revenue stream, while maintaining its significant digital advertising business.”

Sulzberger said paid subscribers to all of the company's digital subscription packages and other digital editions totaled about 406,000.

Overall, the company had an operating profit of $106.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with $111.6 million in the same period of 2010.

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