• by Masha Geller , November 7, 2002

The whole of the online advertising industry may not be registering the revenue growth it had hoped for in 2002, with the Interactive Advertising Bureau reporting last month that revenues were down almost 21% during the first half if the year, but the top of the food chain is reporting strong numbers.

According to publicly filed documents and a recent survey of 18 Online Publishers Association (OPA) members, many leading online publishers reported strong third-quarter earnings results, and the interactive divisions of major media companies posted strong gains in advertising and total revenue for both the third quarter and year-to-date.

OPA executive director Michael Zimbalist says the survey results confirm that high-quality content sites are “continuing to capture an increasing share of online advertising dollars," and demonstrate that online divisions of established media companies are “emerging as engines of growth in an otherwise lackluster economy."

The poll of 18 OPA member companies showed that third-quarter ad revenue grew an average of 35.7% over Q3 2001. Year to date ad revenue among this group was up an average of 23.8% over the same period last year.

The survey also found that total revenue among this group grew an average of 47.4% in the third quarter of this year compared to the same quarter last year, while year-to-date revenue grew an average of 35.5 % over the first nine months of 2001.

By the Numbers:

Total revenue at Knight Ridder Digital was up 35.5% in Q3 over the same quarter last year.

At Tribune Interactive, third-quarter revenues grew 32% to $20 million, up from $15 million in 2001.

At Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, local and national online advertising revenues grew 51% and 50% for the third quarter and first nine months of 2002, respectively.

The Wall Street Journal Online indicated that its online ad sales were up 24% in the third-quarter compared to Q3 2001.

New York Times Digital reported a 26.8% increase in total revenue from the year-ago quarter.

In a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, ESPN.com indicated that ad sales had increased by a double-digit percentage.

MarketWatch.com generated 15% growth in advertising sales in Q3 and achieved EBITDA profitability for the first time.