Newspaper Ad Revenue Sees Biggest Drop Ever!
According to
new data released by the Newspaper Association of America, total
print advertising revenue in 2007 plunged 9.4% to $42 billion
compared to 2006 � the most severe percent decline since the
association started measuring advertising expenditures in 1950.
Such a drop-off
points to an economic slowdown on top of the secular challenges
faced by the industry. The second worst decline in advertising
revenue occurred in 2001 when it fell 9.0%. Total advertising
revenue in 2007 � including online revenue � decreased 7.9% to $45.3
billion compared to the prior year.
There are signs
that online revenue is beginning to slow as well. Internet ad
revenue in 2007 grew 18.8% to $3.2 billion. In comparison, 2006
online ad revenue had soared 31.4% to $2.6 billion. In 2005, it
jumped 31.4% to $2 billion.
As newspaper
web sites generate more advertising revenue, the growth rate
naturally slows. The NAA reported that 2007 online revenue
represents 7.5% of total newspaper ad revenue, compared to 5.7% in
2006.
That growth
could not stave off the losses in the print, however. National print
advertising revenue dropped 6.7% to $7 billion last year. Retail
slipped 5% to $21 billion. Classified plunged 16.5% to $14.1
billion.
�Even with the
near-term challenges posed to print media by a more fragmented
information environment and the economic headwinds facing all
advertising media, newspaper publishers are continuing to drive
strong revenue growth from their increasingly robust web platforms,�
John Sturm, president and CEO of the NAA, said in a statement.