Newspapers online ad spend increases in Q1

Newspaper publishers had a bit of good news in the first quarter of 2007 - an increase in online ad spending. The year-over-year (YoY) Q1 spend increased by 22% to about $750 million.

by Kristina Knight

This marks twelve consecutive quarters that the online ad spend for newspapers has shown an increase in spending, a good sign for the troubled industry. Newspaper site advertising is currently making up about 7% of the total newspaper ad spend.

NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm. “We expect advertising on newspaper Web sites to continue to contribute to the industry’s overall revenue stream as newspapers provide innovative content and up-to-the-minute news and information our audience demands.”

That was the only bright spot.

Total newspaper spending reached just over $10 billion for Q1, a decrease of about 4%. Spending for print ads totaled about $9 billion. Classified advertising dropped about 13% to $3 billion for the quarter and retail also showed a decline of 2% to $4 billion.

Real estate spending in newspapers also dropped 14% to $953 million, while recruitment ads fell to $975 million (14% drop). Automotive was also down for Q1 to $751 million (20% decrease).

“While the classified category demonstrates the impact of how consumers and advertisers use the various media options available today, newspapers continue to make aggressive moves to redefine classified advertising through new online partnerships and other approaches that will position them for the future,” Sturm said.