Fresh data that has surfaced over the past few weeks has reinforced previously observed trends in media advertising and usage. But they have also raised some red flags or sounded warning bells or whatever imagery you’d prefer. Yet amidst the downers there are some positive signs.The transition from legacy media formats to digital formats continues to show a mix of threats and opportunities.
First is the continued downward spiral of advertising in daily newspapers. Nothing new here. But the rate of decline may be accelerating. For the fourth quarter of 2006, total ad revenue at newspapers-- including online revenue-- was down 3.7% from the same period a year earlier.
This past February, individual newspapers and groups reported some dramatic year over year declines: USA Today down 14% while parent Gannett was down 3.8% overall. The Tribune Co. and McClatchy both reported 5% losses. The New York Times Co. was down 6% and The Wall Street Journal off by 10%. Even publishers of smaller city papers, where the losses have been more modest in the past, were afflicted. Media General, which publishes papers in Tampa, Richmond, VA and Winston-Salem, NC, was down almost 6%.
And this is in a period where advertising expenditures in general were reasonably robust. One can't attribute this to a recession. The New York Times reports that publishers “blamed the declines largely on the continuing shift of classified advertisers from print to online, especially to mostly free sites like Craig’s List. In some cases, particularly in Florida and California, they traced the weaknesses to volatile real estate markets.”
Meanwhile, one bright spot for newspapers, online advertising, is showing some signs of slowing as well. Online ad revenue, though up 31.5% for newspapers last year to $2.7 billion, still accounted for only 5.4% of newspaper ad expenditures. Most threatening is that newspapers are facing growing competition from other Web sites aimed at their local market strongholds. Google and Yahoo have already been offering key word search-related advertising that can be geared to local advertisers. But now other local media—TV and radio stations, city magazines—are beefing up their Web sites to help shore up their own advertising woes. Radio stations, faced with declining time spent listening are putting video on their Web sites, along with streaming audio of their programming, to attract larger audiences and selling local advertising.
Perhaps most ominously for all the local media is that the largest share of advertising as well as the fastest growing, are “pure play” sites. That is, they are not related to existing legacy media but exist solely on the Web. This might include Craig’s List as well as local news sites such as Buffalo Rising and Dallas’Pegasus News. As seen in this table from Borrell Associates, about 38% of local online adverting goes to these nontraditional sites—and their share is rising.
There is a small note of good news. A Nielsen/NetRatings study (commissioned by the newspaper industry trade association), found that online visitors to newspapers Web site rose by 5.3% in the first quarter of this year. According to this source, that is the steepest quarterly rise since the numbers were first tracked in 2004. This translates to 59 million visitors to newspaper Web sites.
And another report that might lift the spirits of newspaper publishers came from the Poynter Institute last month. A study tracked the eye movement of 600 test subjects as they read whatever they wanted from their regular newspaper and their newspaper’s Web sites. The most relevant finding for here is that a much larger percentage of story text was read online than in print.
On average, online readers read 77% of what they chose to read, while broadsheet readers read an average of 62% and tabloid readers read an average of 57%.
There might be a pony in there somewhere.
First is the continued downward spiral of advertising in daily newspapers. Nothing new here. But the rate of decline may be accelerating. For the fourth quarter of 2006, total ad revenue at newspapers-- including online revenue-- was down 3.7% from the same period a year earlier.
This past February, individual newspapers and groups reported some dramatic year over year declines: USA Today down 14% while parent Gannett was down 3.8% overall. The Tribune Co. and McClatchy both reported 5% losses. The New York Times Co. was down 6% and The Wall Street Journal off by 10%. Even publishers of smaller city papers, where the losses have been more modest in the past, were afflicted. Media General, which publishes papers in Tampa, Richmond, VA and Winston-Salem, NC, was down almost 6%.
And this is in a period where advertising expenditures in general were reasonably robust. One can't attribute this to a recession. The New York Times reports that publishers “blamed the declines largely on the continuing shift of classified advertisers from print to online, especially to mostly free sites like Craig’s List. In some cases, particularly in Florida and California, they traced the weaknesses to volatile real estate markets.”
Meanwhile, one bright spot for newspapers, online advertising, is showing some signs of slowing as well. Online ad revenue, though up 31.5% for newspapers last year to $2.7 billion, still accounted for only 5.4% of newspaper ad expenditures. Most threatening is that newspapers are facing growing competition from other Web sites aimed at their local market strongholds. Google and Yahoo have already been offering key word search-related advertising that can be geared to local advertisers. But now other local media—TV and radio stations, city magazines—are beefing up their Web sites to help shore up their own advertising woes. Radio stations, faced with declining time spent listening are putting video on their Web sites, along with streaming audio of their programming, to attract larger audiences and selling local advertising.
Perhaps most ominously for all the local media is that the largest share of advertising as well as the fastest growing, are “pure play” sites. That is, they are not related to existing legacy media but exist solely on the Web. This might include Craig’s List as well as local news sites such as Buffalo Rising and Dallas’Pegasus News. As seen in this table from Borrell Associates, about 38% of local online adverting goes to these nontraditional sites—and their share is rising.
There is a small note of good news. A Nielsen/NetRatings study (commissioned by the newspaper industry trade association), found that online visitors to newspapers Web site rose by 5.3% in the first quarter of this year. According to this source, that is the steepest quarterly rise since the numbers were first tracked in 2004. This translates to 59 million visitors to newspaper Web sites.
And another report that might lift the spirits of newspaper publishers came from the Poynter Institute last month. A study tracked the eye movement of 600 test subjects as they read whatever they wanted from their regular newspaper and their newspaper’s Web sites. The most relevant finding for here is that a much larger percentage of story text was read online than in print.
On average, online readers read 77% of what they chose to read, while broadsheet readers read an average of 62% and tabloid readers read an average of 57%.
There might be a pony in there somewhere.
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