US Newspaper Ad Revenues Fall 6.4% Y-O-Y in Q2

September 7, 2012

naa-newspaper-advertising-revenue-q12010-q22012-sept2012.pngUS newspaper advertising expenditures continue to decline, according to the latest figures from the Newspaper Association of America (NAA). In Q2, total expenditures stood at $5.61 billion, down 6.4% from roughly $6 billion a year earlier. Online revenues grew by 2.9%, to $826.7 million, representing 15% share of overall revenues. Print revenues dropped by 7.85% year-over-year to $4.8 billion. The overall 6.4% drop year-over-year in Q2 follows a 6.9% drop in Q1, but this year’s Q2 drop is the smallest year-over-year fall for any quarter since Q2 2010 (-5.55%).

Quarter-Over-Quarter Results Slightly More Encouraging

Newspaper ad revenues actually increased on a quarterly basis, up 8.3% from Q1. Even so, that is a reflection of seasonal trends, as revenues have increased between Q1 and Q2 in every year for which data is provided by the NAA (going back to 1971).

Still, the quarter-over-quarter increase this year is larger than in previous years, including 2011 (7.8%), 2010 (7.7%), 2009 (3%), and 2008 (4%).

National Ad Sales Continue Free Fall

Print ad expenditure decline was most pronounced in national ad sales, which dropped 9.73% year-over-year to $889 million. Classifieds revenue fell 8.39% year-over-year to $1.14 billion, though that was a smaller drop than the 9.85% year-over-year decline from Q1. Retail spending, which represents the majority of expenditures, saw a comparatively smaller decline of 7%, down to $2.75 billion.

Within the retail category, the apparel and accessories and computers/electronics verticals, which represent 6.9% and 11.6% share of retail spending, respectively, were the only to buck the downward trend, with ad dollars rising in each. Coupon marketing organizations increased their national ad spend from $208.9 million in Q2 2011 to $228.2 million in Q2 2012, accounting for 25.7% share of national ad sales in Q2 2012.

Chart-Library-Ad-1

Explore More Articles.

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

9 in 10 RevOps professionals view data analysis skills as being important, a high percentage also don’t believe they need this skill for their job.

Marketing Charts Logo

Stay on the cutting edge of marketing.

Sign up for our free newsletter.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This