Jul 23, 2008 11:20 AM

Media Death Watch: New York Times Q2 is a Downer

The New York Times Co. reported a sharp decline in print ad revenues in the second quarter — down 11.8%, which contributed to an overall 6.7% revenue decline. The good news? Online ad revenues were up 18%. But in absolute terms that isn’t nearly enough to stanch the bleeding as old media migrates to the […]

The New York Times Co. reported a sharp decline in print ad revenues in the second quarter -- down 11.8%, which contributed to an overall 6.7% revenue decline.

The good news? Online ad revenues were up 18%. But in absolute terms that isn't nearly enough to stanch the bleeding as old media migrates to the "new."

It's simple arithmetic. In this quarter:

Total ad revenues declined $37.3 million
Online ad revenues increased about $14.8 million

The shortfall -- about $22.5 million -- is in a nutshell the dilemma of the newspaper industry as it scrambles to make up for lost offline revenue by following its readers online and trying to monetize them there. There's money in digital but also far more competitors for ads, especially classifieds, and nobody has yet to figure out how to either vanquish Craig Newmark or find a new revenue stream traditional media can own.

Still, the Times is faring better than others, as the Times reports on itself:

The Times Company’s newspapers recorded a drop of 11.8 percent, or $427.6 million, in combined print and online advertising revenue in the quarter, a dismal showing, yet better than average for the industry.
The Gannett Company, the country’s largest newspaper chain, reported last week that newspaper ad revenue in the second quarter fell 13.5 percent from a year earlier. Media General, another major newspaper publisher, recorded a 17.1 percent decline.
The New York Times newspaper continued to fare better than others in the company, in keeping with the pattern of recent years.

The Times says cost cutting will increase and also today announced that its cover price Monday-Saturday will increase by a quarter, to $1.50. Trouble with that is higher prices also drive away some customers, but the Times said in another small bright spot that circulation revenue rose 2.5% -- about $5.5 million -- based largely on a previous increase in the NYT cover price.