New York Times Q1 Print Ad Sales Drop Almost 18 Percent From 2016

Overall company earnings still grow a penny per share versus last year’s comparable quarter

new york times

The New York Times announced on Monday that print advertising revenue decreased 17.9 percent while digital advertising revenue increased 18.9 percent during the first quarter of 2017.

The company reported earnings per share of 11 cents, up a penny from 2016’s Q1 take. Revenue was also up year over year, reaching $398.8 million this time around.

Digital advertising revenue was $49.7 million, or 38.2 percent of the paper’s total advertising revenues, compared with $41.8 million, or 29.9 percent, in the first quarter of 2016. The decrease in print advertising revenues resulted primarily from a decline in display advertising.

The increase in digital ad revenues primarily reflected gains from its mobile platform, programmatic channels and branded content, partially offset by a decrease in traditional website display advertising.

“These results show the current strength and future potential of our digital strategy not just to reach a large audience, but also to deliver substantial revenue. We added an astonishing 308,000 net digital news subscriptions, making Q1 the single best quarter for subscriber growth in our history,” CEO Mark Thompson said in a statement.

Thompson continued: “Digital advertising revenue grew 19 percent year-over-year, a vindication of our decision to pivot towards mobile, branded content and a broader suite of marketing services, and to focus on innovation. Despite continued pressure on print advertising, we were able to grow overall revenues by 5 percent in the quarter.”

The company has a conference call for investors scheduled for 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

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