• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, November 8, 2013

The third quarter of the year brought no relief for newspaper publishers, as advertising revenues continued to decline and circulation revenue gains from new digital subscription models remained uneven at best.
 
On Friday E.W. Scripps reported that total revenue at its newspaper division dipped 4.4% from $92.4 million in the third quarter of 2012 to $88.3 million in the third quarter of 2013, due mostly to an 8.1% drop in advertising revenue, from around $60 million to $55.1 million.

By category, classifieds were down 11% to $16.2 million, with real estate falling 5.1%, employment 16.4%, and automotive 11%. Meanwhile, local ad revenue was down 5.6% to $16.5 million, national ads fell 24.5% to $1.4 million, and preprint and other revenues fell 8.3% to $14.6 million. Digital ad revenues fell 1.8% to $6.3 million. These losses more than offset a modest 1.4% gain in subscription revenues, to $28.2 million.
 
Scripps’ total revenues decreased 14% from $220.1 million in the third quarter of 2012 to $190 million in the third quarter of 2013, due to the absence of political advertising associated with last year’s elections. When political advertising is excluded, the company’s total revenues increased 7.5%, thanks in part to a 40% increase in retransmission fees from cable and satellite operators.
 
Previously, A.H. Belo Corp. reported that total revenues slipped 2.3% from $92.3 million in the third quarter of 2012 to $90.2 million in the third quarter of 2013. This was due to a 4.4% drop in advertising revenues, from $52.1 million to $49.8 million, and a 1% decrease in circulation revenues, from $30.9 million to $30.6 million.

These losses more than offset growth in printing and distribution revenues, which increased 6% from $9.2 million to $9.8 million. In terms of ad categories, display ads fell 11%, pre-print fell 3%, and classifieds fell 13%, while advertising from niche publications decreased 3%.
 
McClatchy Co. reported that total revenues decreased 4.2% from $306.5 million to $293.6 million, as advertising revenues slid 8.1% from $212.1 million to $194.9 million. Circulation revenues increased 6.5% from $81.7 million to $87 million, reflecting the success of the company’s digital subscription strategy, implemented in the second half of last year.
 
Gannett Co. reported that total revenues fell 4.6% from $1.31 billion in the third quarter of 2012 to $1.25 billion in the third quarter of 2013, reflecting lower revenues in both its publishing and broadcasting divisions. Newspaper publishing revenues fell 3.6% from $890.2 million to $858.1 million over the same period, with ad revenue declining 5.9% from $552.7 million to $520.2 million and circulation revenue down 0.6% from $276.7 million to $275 million .