Q2 of 2011 was yet another quarter of revenue declines for US newspapers – the 20th in a row. The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) reports that total advertising revenues declined 6.9% to $5.99 billion. Online was the only segment to gain.
Excluding online, print ad revenues fell 8.9% to $5.19 billion. National was down 8.8% in Q2 to $985 million, retail fell 8.1% to $2.96 billion and classified declined 10.9% to $1.25 billion.
Online posted the sixth consecutive quarter of growth in ad sales for the newspapers. Online ad revenues were up 8% in Q2 to $803 million.
The last overall quarterly revenue gain for newspapers was in Q2 of 2006. Back then Q2 revenues were $12.36 billion, more than double the tally for this year’s Q2. To find a Q2 with revenues lower than 2011 you have to go back to 1983, when the tally was $5.15 billion.
