Financial Times Could Close Creative Business
The Financial Times is believed to be considering plans to close its weekly Creative Business media supplement, as part of an extensive £7 million cost cutting drive.
Reports suggest that closing the supplement would save 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).
Financial Times Creative Business has been highly praised for its coverage of the advertising and marketing industries since its launch in October 2000. However, the supplement has been hard hit by the recent downturn and has reportedly struggled to generate recruitment and display advertising revenues.
According to a report in today’s Guardian, executives at the Financial Times are considering relaunching Creative Business as a weekly or a daily page within the main newspaper. A spokesperson said: “We are having a look at Creative Business and nothing might happen. We might make some tweaks, but to say that it is closing is complete speculation.”
A wide-ranging cost-cutting programme across the Financial Times has so-far failed to stem losses, which were £9 million higher last year than in 2002. The company has blamed a ‘savage corporate advertising recession’ for its troubles as the paper’s key advertising categories slashed their budgets and the war on Iraq took its toll (see Losses Widen At FT And The Outlook Remains Uncertain).
Circulation at the Financial Times has also been in decline since the advertising recession reached its peak following the September 11 terrorist attacks. However, the latest monthly ABC results for September 2004 reveal only a slight 0.9% year on year decline for the paper.
The Financial Times relaunched last year with the backing of a multi-million advertising campaign intended to revive its flagging fortunes. The paper featured a renewed emphasis on sport, reviews and features, as well as the return of the weekend magazine.
The title is also currently considering a number of changes to its UK edition under the guidance of features editor Andrew Davis. However, the paper has been keen to dismiss wide-spread speculation it is considering downsizing the title to the Berliner format adopted in France by Le Monde and recently embraced by former tabloid Les Echos (see Financial Times Ponders New Look To Boost Sales).
Financial Times: 020 7873 3000 www.ft.com
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