New York Times May Ad Revenue Drops
New York Times May Advertising Revenue Down 8.5 Percent, Internet Ad Sales Up


NEW YORK (AP) Thursday June 14 10:19AM ET -- The New York Times Co. said Thursday that advertising revenue from continuing operations dropped 8.5 percent in May as national, retail and classified ads all declined.

The company said its total revenue from continuing operations fell 5.8 percent compared with May of last year.

The New York Times' media properties include its namesake newspaper, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe and more than 30 Web sites including NYTimes.com and About.com.

Advertising revenue for the New York Times Media Group dropped 9.1 percent as national, retail and classified advertising all declined. Ad revenue for the New England Media Group fell 8.8 percent. The Regional Media Group saw the largest decline, with a 14 percent drop in sales.
Internet ad revenue for the New York Times, New England and Regional media groups surged 21.4 percent as display and classified advertising increased.

Circulation revenue for May rose 0.1 percent, as increased sales at The New York Times Media Group offset declines at the New England and Regional Media Groups.

Advertising revenue at the company's About.com Internet business jumped 32.6 percent with more display and cost-per-click advertising. The company said the data reflects the acquisitions of ConsumerSearch.com in early May and UCompareHealthCare.com in late March.

Unique U.S. visitors to the company's Internet properties gained 11 percent at 43.8 million, from 39.3 million unique visitors in the prior year.

The company said TimesSelect, a fee-based product on NYTimes.com offering columns and archived articles, has about 741,000 subscribers.

New York Times shares fell 40 cents to $26.04 in morning trading.