Business News

The New York Times Company Reports December Revenues

Wednesday 28. January 2009 - The New York Times Company announced today that in December total Company revenues from continuing operations decreased 9.1% compared with the same month a year ago. Advertising revenues decreased 15.7% and circulation revenues increased 3.0%.

All comparisons are for December 2008 to December 2007 unless otherwise noted:
News Media Group
Advertising revenues for the News Media Group declined 15.8%.
The New York Times Media Group – Advertising revenues for The New York Times Media Group decreased 14.1%. National advertising revenues decreased as weakness in the studio entertainment, financial services, telecommunications and technology products categories was partially offset by strong growth in corporate advertising. Retail advertising revenues declined mainly due to decreases in department store advertising. Classified advertising revenues were down because of weakness in real estate, help-wanted and automotive advertising.
New England Media Group – Advertising revenues for the New England Media Group decreased 18.2%. National advertising revenues were lower mainly because of decreases in the telecommunications, studio entertainment, media and financial services categories. Retail advertising revenues declined primarily due to weakness in the department and other stores, furniture/home furnishing and jewelry/luggage categories. Classified advertising revenues were lower due to softness in real estate, help-wanted and automotive advertising.
Regional Media Group – Advertising revenues for the Regional Media Group decreased 20.3%. Retail advertising revenues were down mainly because of declines in the home furnishing, telecommunication, specialty store and grocery categories. Classified advertising revenues decreased due to weakness in automotive, help-wanted and real estate advertising.
Internet advertising revenues included in the News Media Group decreased 12.3% in December because of weakness in both display and online classified advertising. In the fourth quarter, Internet advertising revenues included in the News Media Group were down 3.2% compared with the 2007 fourth quarter, as declines in the online classified categories offset modest growth in display advertising. For the year, Internet advertising revenues included in the News Media Group were up 8.7% compared with 2007, as growth in display advertising offset decreases in online recruitment advertising.
Circulation revenues for the News Media Group grew 3.0% as The New York Times, New England and Regional Media Groups all benefited from higher prices.
About Group
Advertising revenues at the About Group (which includes the Web sites of About.com, ConsumerSearch.com, UCompareHealthCare.com and Caloriecount.about.com) decreased 13.2% in December because of declines in display and cost-per-click advertising. For the 2008 full year, advertising revenues at the About Group increased 10.4% compared with the same period in 2007, as growth in cost-per-click advertising offset modest declines in display advertising.
Other Data
Internet Businesses: Internet businesses include NYTimes.com, About.com, Boston.com and other Company Web sites. Total Internet revenues decreased 11.4% and Internet advertising revenues decreased 12.7% in December. In total, Internet businesses accounted for 11.7% of total revenues in December versus 12.0% in December 2007.
For the 2008 fourth quarter, total Internet revenues decreased 2.9% and Internet advertising revenues decreased 3.5%. In total, Internet businesses accounted for 12.0% of total revenues in the fourth quarter versus 11.0% in 2007 fourth quarter. For 2008, total Internet revenues rose 6.5% and Internet advertising revenues increased 9.3% compared with 2007. In total, Internet businesses accounted for 11.9% of total revenues in 2008 versus 10.3% in 2007.
In addition, The New York Times Company had the 12th largest presence on the Web, with 50.8 million unique visitors in the United States in December 2008 according to Nielsen Online, up about 4% from 48.7 million unique visitors in December 2007. Also according to Nielsen Online, NYTimes.com had 18.2 million unique visitors in December versus 17.2 million in December 2007, up about 6%, and was the No. 1 newspaper Web site in the United States, a position it has long held.
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2008 revenues of $2.9 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.