Ad revenues dropped 17.9% in July to $119.9 million for the News Media group at the New York Times Company, which includes the newspapers, WQXR-FM NYC and their associated websites. Classified plunged 30.1%, while Retail was off 13.3% and National 12.6%. Internet ad revenues were up 5.5%, but that wasn’t nearly enough to counter the drop-off in traditional media business. Most of the online revenue gain was from About Group, anchored by About.com, where revenues rose 14.6% to $9.5 million. Ad revenues from websites associated with the company’s newspapers and WQXR rose only 0.9%, with growth in display advertising largely offset by weakness in recruitment advertising. The company said August is looking better for Media Group online revenues, pacing up in the low single digits, with display advertising improving at NYTimes.com.
