Newspaper ad revenues fall

Ad spending on U.S. newspaper sites increased in 2007, but this didn’t managed to balance out losses in print ad revenues, which decreased by the largest percent in over 50 years.

by Helen Leggatt

The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) has released preliminary estimates for ad spending in 2007, and it’s not looking too good for the future of print.

Total print ad revenue fell 9.4% in 2007, compared to 2006, to $42.2 billion. The fall is the largest percent decline since NAA records began. Only the big drop in 2001 came close when ad revenue dropped by 9%.

Newspaper websites, on the other hand, are still experiencing growth in ad spending, albeit not quite at the levels of the years 2005 and 2006, which saw growth in the region of 30%. In 2007, online newspaper ad spending rose 18.8% to $3.2 billion, accounting for around 7.5% of all newspaper ad spending.

“Even with the near-term challenges posed to print media by a more fragmented information environment and the economic headwinds facing all advertising media, newspaper publishers are continuing to drive strong revenue growth from their increasingly robust Web platforms,” said NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm .

Overall, print and online spending combined fell to just over $45 billion, down 7.9% from $49.3 billion in 2006.