Ad linage rose 2 percent and ad revenues climbed 3 percent in January among publicly traded newspaper companies, according to a MediaDailyNews analysis of data from company reports. MediaDailyNews' index of newspaper ad revenues rose to $1.28 billion last month, compared with $1.24 billion a year ago. Ad revenue growth was led by Pulitzer Inc., which rose 8 percent to $28.1 million; McClatchy, up 5 percent to $79.7 million; and Gannett, up 6 percent to $373.6 million. The rest of the sector saw slight increases with the exception of Journal Communications Inc., the publisher of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and other newspapers, whose ad revenue fell 2 percent last month compared to January 2003. Total ad linage was up as well, from 22.1 million inches a year ago to 22.5 million in January 2004. E.W. Scripps' 4 percent increase in total linage led the index; Lee Enterprises and Media General were both up 3 percent. Knight Ridder and The New York Times Co. were down slightly, and Journal Communications' total ad linage fell 4 percent. The retail index, which includes seven newspaper companies that report the data, was mixed for the month. Retail revenues rose 2 percent, but linage dropped 3 percent. Leaders were Pulitzer (revenues up 9 percent) and Tribune (revenues up 4 percent); Media General's retail revenues fell 5 percent. Six of the seven companies releasing retail linage showed declines; only Tribune was up slightly. National ad revenues were up 1 percent, with all nine newspapers reporting showing increases. Tribune was up slightly; Lee Enterprises was up 13 percent; and the remainder was in the sector somewhere in between. National ad linage rose 5 percent, with double-digit increases at Lee and Gannett. McClatchy, Media General, and E.W. Scripps rose in the high single digits, and New York Times Co. and Tribune were down slightly in the national-ad category. Classified ad revenues were up 4 percent, with most of the companies reporting gains in the mid- to high-single digits. Journal Communications and The New York Times Co. reported declines. Classified ad linage was up 3 percent overall in the MediaPost newspaper ad index. MediaPost's monthly newspaper composite includes data from the following publicly traded newspaper companies: Gannett, Journal Register Co., Knight Ridder, Lee Enterprises, McClatchy, Media General, New York Times Co., Journal Communications, Pulitzer Inc., E.W. Scripps, and Tribune Co. It doesn't include Belo or Dow Jones, which don't release detailed linage and revenue data monthly.
Despite a down quarter in several of its largest markets and flat results for its same-station sales, station group Entercom Communications Corp. saw revenues and net income rise in the fourth quarter and for the full year. The nation's fourth-largest station owner reported $104.6 million in revenues for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to $101.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2002. Same-station revenues--which don't reflect acquisitions--were flat in the quarter, falling to $104.5 million in 2003 compared to $105.2 million in 2002. The strongest categories were insurance, home improvement, telecom, and automotive. Net income in the quarter was $21.8 million/42 cents a share, compared to $18.8 million/37 cents a share for the same three-month period in 2002. Same-station operating revenue declined, from $46.7 million in the third quarter of 2002 to $44.7 million for the same period a year later. In mid-December 2003, Entercom purchased two radio stations in Portland, Ore. from Fisher Communications in Seattle, for $44 million. Executives weren't excited by the quarter, but said results were due mainly to weakness in Entercom's largest markets: Seattle, Boston, and Denver. Radio advertising in those markets fell by mid- to high-single digits; Entercom didn't release its station-by-station results. Boston, Seattle, and Denver comprise about 39 percent of Entercom's total revenues, according to Bear, Stearns. "We did a very good job competing under adverse circumstances," said David J. Field, president and chief executive of Entercom. Local revenues showed growth in amount and market share, while national sales fell in revenues and market share. Local ad spending--about 80 percent of Entercom's revenues--rose in the single digits, and market share was up. But national revenues fell by mid-single digits compared to the fourth quarter of 2002, and Field said Entercom was losing market share. He said Entercom had discussed with Interep, its national rep firm, ways to address the problem and to improve performance. Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2004--which has little more than a month remaining--Entercom said revenues would grow between 3 percent and 5 percent compared to a year ago. Revenues were $81 million in the first quarter of 2003, compared to $74.1 million in the first quarter of 2002. Entercom was seeing a stronger March in pacings than either January or February. Local is tracking slightly better than national, and some slippage was noted in national radio for March. "Business conditions aren't bad for the first quarter, but they aren't terrific either," Field said. Entercom Revenues/Net Income Q4 2003 Revenues: $104.6 million Q4 2002 Revenues: $101.9 million FY 2003 Revenues: $401.0 million FY 2002 Revenues: $391.2 million Q4 2003 Net Income: $21.8 million Q4 2002 Net Income: $18.8 million FY 2003 Net Income: $71.7 million FY 2002 Net Income: ($83 million)
The Spanish-language newspaper war is about to begin in the nation's largest Hispanic market. Tribune Co. announced Monday that it would start publishing the daily Hoy in Los Angeles on Monday, March 1. The tabloid newspaper will be published Monday through Friday and will be available for a quarter at 7,000 locations throughout the Los Angeles basin, which is home to nearly 7 million Hispanics. Tribune executives have kept its debut and target circulation figures close to their vest, but it's expected to be an almost instant rival to the other Spanish-language daily, La Opinion. La Opinion has a daily circulation of 124,000, which is more than the circulation of Hoy's already-published editions in both New York (94,000 daily and 35,000 Sunday) and Chicago (18,000). Until last month, Tribune owned 50 percent of La Opinion. It sold its half--which it had held for 14 years--back to the family that started the paper in 1926. La Opinion subsequently merged with CPK Media Holdings, which acquired the daily El Diario-La Prensa in New York in July 2003. El Diario-La Prensa competes with Tribune's Hoy in New York, and has a circulation of about 50,000. Tribune said Monday that Hoy would have four zoned editions with news and advertising for Los Angeles, Orange County/Long Beach, San Gabriel/Inland Empire, and San Fernando. The daily paper will be about 40 pages. There will be eight pages of sports coverage every day, along with a shot of entertainment news. The weekend guide, Vida Hoy, will be published on Fridays, and will feature restaurants, events, music, TV, movies, and other entertainment topics. There will also be pages of news from Central America, South America, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean. Weekly features include an extra sports section on Mondays, travel on Tuesdays, food and health on Wednesdays, and style/fashion and education on Thursdays. "With a proven record in New York and Chicago, we're confident that Hoy will be well-received by Hispanic readers and advertisers in the Los Angeles area also," said Louis Sito, vice president of Hispanic media for Tribune Publishing. The Los Angeles tabloid is Tribune's third Spanish-language daily in the United States. Tribune began the New York edition of Hoy in November 1998, and it passed El Diario-La Prensa as New York's biggest-selling Spanish-language daily in March 2001. The Chicago Hoy began in September 2003, when Tribune converted a weekly to daily publication.