Newspaper Ad Revenues Continue Decline

A report from the Newspaper Association of America, using second quarter financial reports, shows continued decline in total advertising revenues.  Total advertising revenues are down 6.4% from the same time last year.  While there was some growth in online revenues (up 2.9% to $927 million), those gains were dwarfed by falling print ad revenues (down 7.9% to $4.8 billion).  Over the longer term, newspaper advertising revenues are less than half of what they were in their peak year of 2006.  Newspapers have lost three-quarters of its classified advertising revenues over that period.

  On the print side, declines were seen in all advertising segments: National ads down 9.7%; Retail ads down 7%; classifieds down 8.4%.  Declines in classified advertising revenues were driven by major drops in automotive (down 6.3%; employment recruitment (down 4.2%); and real estate down 19.3%.  All areas that have found online alternatives that were cheaper and more effective than print ads in newspapers.
  While online advertising revenues were up, they still a small portion of total advertising revenues for newspapers (less than 15%).  However, newspapers continue to underperform in this sector - the rate growth in online ad revenues for newspapers is significantly slower than the overall rate of growth in online advertising revenues.  In 2011, newspaper online ad revenues were up 6.8% - but total online ad revenues grew at 22%.
  While these results suggest an industry in decline, other studies (such as the Pew annual State of the News reports) suggest the decline isn't uniform.  Revenue and circulation declines occur primarily in the larger urban dailies - other types of newspapers seem to be holding their own.  And Pew continues to find that most newspapers remain profitable, although profit margins have fallen.

Source - Newspaper Revenues Slide Again, Online Remains Sluggish,  Media Daily News

NAA reports on ad revenues, circulation, and readership (among other things) are available on the NAA websites Trends & Numbers section