NY Times & About.com Still Honeymooning
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Written By Reprise Media | June 22, 2005 | Share This
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The New York Times says the integration of About.com is going swimmingly, according to speech by President and CEO Janet Robinson at a Newspaper Association of America event yesterday.
First announced last February, the acquisition represents a major offline company merging forces with an internet company to occupy a dominant position in the online advertising space. The PaidContent.org blog has coverage, including a link to the transcript of Robinson’s speech.
Some quick highlights:
- On challenges facing the NY Times as a business: “A sizeable portion of classified advertising, particularly real estate and help wanted, has moved online…Advertisers increasingly seek measurable results as well as the ability to target audiences through vehicles such as direct marketing.”
- What they’re doing about them: Redesigning sections, launching new magazines, leveraging their branded offerings, selling content via an integrated network of print, broadcast, and online platforms
- Is it working?: Offline - “May’s advertising results showed the highest growth rate of any month so far this year.” Online - “It continues to show strong advertising revenue growth, up 30 percent in 2005.”
- The About.com acquisition: Going well in a number of areas, including traffic generation, sales team synergy, cross promotions, and cost savings - “With this acquisition The New York Times Company sites are now the 11th most visited on the Internet, with more than 32 million unique visitors.”
When viewed in a larger context, the story is tough times for newspapers, with advertiser consolidation, declining circulation numbers, and multiple media sources competing for reader attention posing formidable challenges. Online advertising continues to remain a bright spot amidst these stormy seas. This article in BusinessWeek has more.
Topics: Investment, M&A |