Despite subscription surges for largest U.S. newspapers, circulation and revenue fall for industry overall

Following last year’s presidential election, some major U.S. newspapers reported a acute leap in digital subscriptions, providing a boost to their overall circulation totals. The newspaper industry as a entire, however, faced ongoing challenges in 2016, according to fresh Pew Research Center analysis.

Yearly financial statements showcase that The Fresh York Times added more than 500,000 digital subscriptions in two thousand sixteen – a 47% year-over-year rise. The Wall Street Journal added more than 150,000 digital subscriptions, a 23% rise, according to audited statements produced by Dow Jones. And the Chicago Tribune added about 100,000 in weekday digital circulation, a 76% year-over-year build up, according to its filings with the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM), an organization that verifies many daily newspapers’ circulation figures.

But these gains did not translate into circulation growth for the industry overall. A Pew Research Center analysis of data from AAM shows that total weekday circulation for U.S. daily newspapers – both print and digital – fell 8% in 2016, marking the 28th consecutive year of declines. (Sunday circulation also fell 8%.) The overall decline includes a 10% decrease in weekday print circulation (9% for Sundays) and a 1% decline in weekday digital circulation (1% rise for Sundays). Total weekday circulation for U.S. daily newspapers fell to thirty five million, while total Sunday circulation declined to thirty eight million – the lowest levels since 1945. (For more information on how these totals were calculated, see our fact sheet.)

While the print circulation figures include the large papers cited above, digital circulation is more difficult to assess. Three of the largest U.S. daily papers – The Fresh York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal – do not fully report their digital subscriptions to AAM, so they are not included in the overall circulation estimate above. Had the independently produced digital circulation figures from the Times and Journal been included, total weekday circulation would have fallen by 4%, rather than the 8% figure shown in the AAM data alone.

This overall decline in circulation coincided with a double-digit decline in advertising revenue for the industry as a entire. A separate Pew Research Center analysis based on the year-end financial statements of seven publicly traded U.S. newspaper companies suggests that advertising revenue across the industry declined even more sharply than in latest years: a 10% decline, which outpaces the 8% decline in 2015. (More details about this analysis are also available in the newspaper industry fact sheet.) This decline put total ad revenue for the industry in two thousand sixteen at $Legal billion. This is almost a third of what it was just ten years ago: In 2006, the Newspaper Association of America, now known as the News Media Alliance, put total industry ad revenue at $49 billion.

By contrast, circulation revenue has been stable over the past few years, rising from $Ten.Four billion in two thousand twelve to $Ten.9 billion in both two thousand fifteen and 2016. This is a petite bright spot for the industry, and comes as some publishers are pursuing a “subscription-first model” by focusing on growing the number of subscribers rather than retaining advertising revenue. Still, gains in circulation revenue have not been almost enough to make up for losses in advertising revenue – a pattern that holds true even at the large newspapers and major chains.

According to year-end financial statements, The Fresh York Times witnessed a year-over-year decline of 9% in advertising revenue but a 3% rise in circulation revenue, for an overall revenue decline of 2%. Tronc, which has emphasized digital innovation in switching its name from Tribune Publishing, spotted an 8% decline in advertising revenue and a 4% decline in total revenue, tho’ circulation revenue enhanced 5%. (Tronc possesses the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, among other papers.) And Gannett witnessed no switch in its advertising revenue, but this was due mainly to the company’s acquisition of extra newspapers over the course of the year; once these fresh acquisitions are taken out of the equation, ad revenue declined by 13%. (The Washington Post, as a private company, does not publish its financial results, but the company’s chief revenue officer said in a latest Fresh York Times article that two thousand seventeen would be “our third straight year of double-digit revenue growth.”)

Circulation, revenue fall for US newspapers overall despite gains for some, Pew Research Center

Despite subscription surges for largest U.S. newspapers, circulation and revenue fall for industry overall

Following last year’s presidential election, some major U.S. newspapers reported a acute leap in digital subscriptions, providing a boost to their overall circulation totals. The newspaper industry as a entire, however, faced ongoing challenges in 2016, according to fresh Pew Research Center analysis.

Yearly financial statements display that The Fresh York Times added more than 500,000 digital subscriptions in two thousand sixteen – a 47% year-over-year rise. The Wall Street Journal added more than 150,000 digital subscriptions, a 23% rise, according to audited statements produced by Dow Jones. And the Chicago Tribune added about 100,000 in weekday digital circulation, a 76% year-over-year build up, according to its filings with the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM), an organization that verifies many daily newspapers’ circulation figures.

But these gains did not translate into circulation growth for the industry overall. A Pew Research Center analysis of data from AAM shows that total weekday circulation for U.S. daily newspapers – both print and digital – fell 8% in 2016, marking the 28th consecutive year of declines. (Sunday circulation also fell 8%.) The overall decline includes a 10% decrease in weekday print circulation (9% for Sundays) and a 1% decline in weekday digital circulation (1% rise for Sundays). Total weekday circulation for U.S. daily newspapers fell to thirty five million, while total Sunday circulation declined to thirty eight million – the lowest levels since 1945. (For more information on how these totals were calculated, see our fact sheet.)

While the print circulation figures include the large papers cited above, digital circulation is more difficult to assess. Three of the largest U.S. daily papers – The Fresh York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal – do not fully report their digital subscriptions to AAM, so they are not included in the overall circulation estimate above. Had the independently produced digital circulation figures from the Times and Journal been included, total weekday circulation would have fallen by 4%, rather than the 8% figure shown in the AAM data alone.

This overall decline in circulation coincided with a double-digit decline in advertising revenue for the industry as a entire. A separate Pew Research Center analysis based on the year-end financial statements of seven publicly traded U.S. newspaper companies suggests that advertising revenue across the industry declined even more sharply than in latest years: a 10% decline, which outpaces the 8% decline in 2015. (More details about this analysis are also available in the newspaper industry fact sheet.) This decline put total ad revenue for the industry in two thousand sixteen at $Legal billion. This is almost a third of what it was just ten years ago: In 2006, the Newspaper Association of America, now known as the News Media Alliance, put total industry ad revenue at $49 billion.

By contrast, circulation revenue has been sustained over the past few years, rising from $Ten.Four billion in two thousand twelve to $Ten.9 billion in both two thousand fifteen and 2016. This is a petite bright spot for the industry, and comes as some publishers are pursuing a “subscription-first model” by focusing on growing the number of subscribers rather than retaining advertising revenue. Still, gains in circulation revenue have not been almost enough to make up for losses in advertising revenue – a pattern that holds true even at the large newspapers and major chains.

According to year-end financial statements, The Fresh York Times spotted a year-over-year decline of 9% in advertising revenue but a 3% rise in circulation revenue, for an overall revenue decline of 2%. Tronc, which has emphasized digital innovation in switching its name from Tribune Publishing, witnessed an 8% decline in advertising revenue and a 4% decline in total revenue, tho’ circulation revenue enhanced 5%. (Tronc possesses the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, among other papers.) And Gannett witnessed no switch in its advertising revenue, but this was due mainly to the company’s acquisition of extra newspapers over the course of the year; once these fresh acquisitions are taken out of the equation, ad revenue declined by 13%. (The Washington Post, as a private company, does not publish its financial results, but the company’s chief revenue officer said in a latest Fresh York Times article that two thousand seventeen would be “our third straight year of double-digit revenue growth.”)

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