There was some good news for the US newspaper advertising sector yesterday as two major publishers reported positive results for the third quarter of the year.
The New York Times Company (NYTC) talked of a steady improvement in advertising and circulation revenues and posted profits up 35% on ad revenues up 3.6% during September; circulation revenues were up 8.5%.
The NYTC has been hard-hit by the advertising downturn, particularly at its flagship New York Times title (see Ad Decline Thrashes NYT Co Profits). Across the whole third quarter, revenues were up 1.5% at the New York Times division, whilst the total group saw a rise of 1.7%, aided by strong regional newspaper figures.
Meanwhile, the Tribune Company saw revenues rise by 2% in Q3, with retail advertising up 7%, but financial ads are still weak.
These improvements paint a more positive outlook for the sector, which is still to benefit from election spend later in the year.
