FT Pulls The Plug On Creative Business
The Financial Times has announced the closure of its Creative Business media section just a month after denying reports that the supplement was to fold, the section will now be wound down with media news instead being incorporated into the main newspaper on a monthly basis.
The closure is due to a failure by the 16-page supplement to bring in adequate advertising revenue and comes as the newspaper attempts to cut its outgoings in an extensive £7 million cost cutting drive.
The closure of Creative Business could free up around £400,000 a year for the paper, which posted a loss of £32 million last year as advertising revenues slumped and sales continued to fall amid the ongoing corporate recession (see Losses Widen At FT And The Outlook Remains Uncertain).
The move comes as several newspapers reduce their media coverage. Earlier this year saw the Daily Telegraph abandon its five year-old media section as part of a change of emphasis across the board to focus more on its key strengths and less on specialist sections (see Telegraph Calls Time On Weekly Media Section).
The Times has also downgraded its media section following the “agreed departure” of veteran industry commentator, Ray Snoddy. Snoddy has since joined the Independent, which bucked the trend recently by launching its new Media Weekly supplement in an attempt to break the Guardian‘s stranglehold on the media news and jobs sector (see Independent Unveils New Media Weekly Section).
The FT’s decision to close Creative Business is not believed to have resulted in job losses, and the newspaper has been optimistic about its financial future in recent months. Earlier this year the newspaper’s publisher, Pearson, stated that it expects the flagship newspaper to break even by the end of the year, despite an erratic advertising market.
According to Pearson, the newspaper is on track to reduce full-year losses by about £20m, while group advertising revenues for the first nine months of this year were up 2% on those seen in 2003 (see Financial Times Expected To Break Even By Year End).
The newspaper has also seen its readership grow, adding a substantial 29.7% year on year to notching up a total of just over 500,000 according to the latest NRS figures. The newspaper’s circulation has seen a decline, however, losing 2.6% year on year in the six months to November to record a total of just over 426,000.
Financial Times: 020 873 3000 www.ft.com
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