Audiences increase but revenue slows for newspapers

Newspapers are taking another hard hit according to a recent report from the Newspaper Association of America. According to the report audience numbers are up both online and in print but revenue has seen another lag.

by Kristina Knight

One encouraging sign is a report from Scarborough Research which indicates that more than 75% of American's read a print or an online version of their paper each week, this is a continuous measurement. Nielsen//Netratings report that on average users spend about 43 minutes online with newspaper websites.

But that is where the good news ends.

Overall the growth rate for online revenues slowed in Q3. Here are a few examples from larger newspaper companies. The Tribune Company say online revenues grown only 9% in Q3 2007; in Q3 2006 the company saw revenue growth of 28%. Publisher McClatchy also saw slower growth. Revenue grew only 1.4% in Q3 2007 compared to 16% growth in Q3 2006. Meanwhile the E.W. Scripps Company saw revenue grow only 19% in Q3 compared to a 40% growth rate for the same period in 2006.

Still, newspapers continue to push budgets online. According to a recent eMarketer report newspapers and magazines will spend $500 million to promote their brands online.

“While print products will not go away any more than radio disappeared when TV arrived, publishers must adapt to serving two audiences, one online and the other offline.”