Decline in press ad revenue slowing, according to new report

The decline of UK press advertising revenue is slowing down, according to a new ad expenditure report from ZenithOptimedia.

In 2013 a drop of 8.4% was recorded across display and classified, while a decline of 6.2% is expected in 2014, with display faring slightly better than classified.

However, the figures do not take into account digital revenues from UK publishers, which are currently on the rise and the Advertising Association predicts will compensate for the loss of pure print revenue in 2015.

The decline for national press adspend is predicted to ease from 7.6% in 2013 to 4.6% in 2014. At the same time the revenue from the digital properties of publishers is on the up, having risen by 19.5% to £184 million in 2013 – likely to accelerate and make up for the loss of print revenue in 2015.

The magazine sector is expected to see a much slower decline this year, from 7.4% in 2013 to 7.1%. Consumer magazine digital revenues rose in 2013 to account for roughly one quarter of press adspend and is predicted to offset the decline in print by 2015.