Ad Revenues Down, Subscription Revenues Rise At New York Times Co.

Advertising revenues fell but subscription revenue grew and earnings per share doubled for THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY in third quarter 2020.

Total revenues fell 0.4% year-to-year to $426.9 million, hit by a 30.2% dip in ad revenues to $79.3 million (with digital off 12.6%), offset by an increase of 12.6% in subscription revenues to $301 million, buoyed by increases in digital-only products (including audio). Diluted earnings per share increased from 10 cents to 20 cents. The company does not break out revenue specifically from its podcasting and audio operations.

Pres./CEO MEREDITH KOPIT LEVIEN said, “In this unprecedented moment in the country and the world, our strategy of making journalism worth paying for continues to prove itself out, and our newsroom’s extraordinary work across a range of subjects and formats continues to drive more people to engage with THE TIMES, form a habit, pay and stay.

“For the second quarter running, total digital revenue exceeded print revenue. And for the first time, total digital-only subscription revenue exceeded print subscription revenue, making digital-only subscriptions not just the central engine of the Company’s growth, but on its way to being our largest revenue stream.

“We ended the quarter with approximately 6.9 million total subscriptions, and crossed the 7 million mark in the month of October, an increase of two million digital-only subscriptions over the last year and 393,000 over the last quarter. The news cycle certainly played a role, but as we are increasingly seeing with each passing quarter, so too did the breadth of our coverage and our improving ability to mean more to more people. The continued demand for quality, original, independent journalism across a range of topics makes us even more optimistic about the size of the total market for digital journalism subscriptions and our position in it.”

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