US newspaper publishers’ hopes that advertising revenues might be about to stabilise have been dashed by several pieces of research.
An analysis of data predicts that newspapers will achieve a new low in ad sales for 2011, with revenues expected to come in at about $24 billion this year (2011) – down from the record $49.4 billion achieved in 2005.
The last time newspaper revenues were this low was 1984.
via Greenslade
Although this was the year many publishers hoped the business would stabilize, sales continued to deteriorate alarmingly in almost every category in the first nine months:
- Retail advertising dropped 8.8%.
- Classifieds plunged 12.9%.
- National advertising fell by a bit less than 11%.
- The only bright spot was digital advertising, which climbed 8.3%.
This year was the year that many publishers believed an improving economy would halt, if not reverse, the revenue slide that commenced in the spring of 2006. Technically, the economy did rebound in 2011, but the uptick bypassed newspapers.
via Newsosaur
My heart goes out to all those in the industry.
With one question, where did $25 billion in lost revenue go. What multi-billion dollar industry has replaced it?
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It’s possible it went to the digital world, where newspapers are completely out of touch with only a few success stories.
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