UK: Johnston Press’ digital up 35%, print down 0.8%, evens out

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on December 12, 2007 at 1:12 PM

Digital revenues at regional newspaper group Johnston Press grew 35.3% in the five months to Nov. 30, while print ad revenues declines 0.8% in the same period. The good news is that overall advertising were up 0.2%.

So does this mean that the rapid growth of online revenues is starting to compensate for the slowing decline of print ad revenues?

It’s too early to say, but this would point in the right direction.

Overall Ad revenues at Johnston had declined 1.5% in the first half of the year (2.9% for print).

Johnston said it was anticipating “satisfactory outcome” for 2007 as a whole. However, it did advise caution for its 2008 prospects, due to the general economic conjecture.

But "we also expect continued rapid growth in our digital activities and to achieve ongoing improvements in the operational efficiency of the business," said Johnston.

The company attributed this positive digital growth to the setup of iAnnounce, a feature that enables users to set up their own dedicated page of personal events.

You can read here an exclusive statement about the future of the industry from Johnston’s CEO, Tim Bowdler.

Source: Guardian – Brand Republic