• June 15, 2007

While overall ad revenues decreased 8.5% in May, The New York Times Company reported positive news for the Internet side of the business, with About.com leading the gains.

About.com's May advertising revenues rose 32.6% year-over-year, to $7.4 million. The growth was attributed to increases in both display and cost-per-click advertising, and also reflect the recent acquisitions of ConsumerSearch.com and UCompareHealthCare.com.

The company said that display advertising was up primarily because of strength in the Internet, pharmaceutical and technology categories.

On the newspaper side, the Times said Internet ad revenues rose 21.4% in May due to growth in both display and classified advertising. The New York Times' fee-based TimesSelect said it now has 741,000 subscribers, with 60% of those receiving it as part of their print subscriptions, 30% through online-only subscriptions, and 10% receiving it free as college students and educators.

Overall, The New York Times Company noted that its 30 Web sites had the 11th-largest presence on the Web in May, with 43.8 million unique visitors in the U.S., according to Nielsen//NetRatings. That was about 11% more than a year earlier. -- Les Luchter