Online advertising continues to be the bright light for The New York Times Co., with an increase in April of 31 percent of 31.6 percent year over year. “Strong growth” in display and classified ads are credited for driving the increase. But, to get a sense of how this actually affects the company’s advertising bottom line, consider that the overall increase was 3.7 percent, including recent acquisition About.com, and 1.9 percent without it.
The numbers are sure to start another round of “why now” when it comes to putting more Times content behind the pay wall. The high numbers actually bolster the concerns expressed by Times executives about advertising as the sole major source of revenue: this kind of high double-digit growth can’t be sustained indefinitely. As internet advertising matures, the gains will be smaller. Combine maturation with a down cycle and then the criticism would be for over-reliance on advertising.
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