National press ad revenues tumble

Campaign, Friday, 27 February 2009, 12:00am,

The national press market continues to be hit by the downturn, with overall ad revenues down by 20 per cent in January.

Ad revenues in quality titles have been especially hard hit, according to unofficial Nielsen figures supplied by media agencies.

The decline in revenue is roughly in line with TV ad revenues, which are expected to be down by about 18 per cent during the first quarter.

Titles especially hard hit include the Financial Times, with ad revenues down by 30 per cent year on year in January, according to the agency figures, and the Evening Standard, down 40 per cent in the same month.

Advertising revenues at Times Media, the publisher of The Times and The Sunday Times, were down 21.2 per cent in January, while the Telegraph Media Group saw a decline of only 12.3 per cent.

The Sun and the News Of The World, taken together, saw a decline of 1.6 per cent, according to the unofficial figures.

This article was first published on Campaign