The McClatchy Co.
Advertising and circulation revenue were down at the McClatchy Co. in the third quarter of this year. Five of the company’s newspapers — including The Sacramento Bee and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram — introduced a digital-subscription paywall called Plus in September. In an earnings report released today, McClatchy president and CEO Pat Talamantes said “only a small percentage of renewals have opted out of the Plus program, telling us our print readers value our content and high-quality journalism and are willing to pay extra for it in digital form.”
Circulation revenue was down 2 percent over the third quarter of 2011. In the earnings release, Talamantes said revenues from the paywalls “will begin to make a more significant impact in the fourth quarter.”
The company plans to roll out paywalls across all its papers, an initiative Talamantes estimates “could add more than $20 million” in revenues next year.
Digital advertising was up 2.7 percent over the third quarter of 2011, and accounts for nearly 23 percent of McClatchy’s advertising revenue. Talamantes said advertising “continued to move in the right direction in the third quarter: Ad revenues were down 6.8% in the first quarter of 2012, down 5.7% in the second quarter of 2012 and down 5.4% this quarter.”
Previously: McClatchy to expand paywalls across chain in fourth quarter | McClatchy reports $2.1 million dollar net loss in first quarter
