Newspapers Face Uphill Climb As They Look to Lift Ad Rates in 2006

Washington DC December 28, 2005; The AIADA newsletter reported that faced with declining circulation, several of the newspaper industry’s heavy hitters are seeking to raise ad rates next year, but “industry observers and ad buyers predict many newspapers won’t get the ad-rate increases they want, or if they do it will come at the expense of demand,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

According to the report, USA Today, The New York Times and Los Angeles Times are all seeking increases of 6 percent, 5 percent and 3-6 percent, respectively in 2006.

A main contributing factor: the Internet. More from the Journal: “The lackluster environment for print advertising comes as online demand is surging.

While newspapers might see a 3 percent or 4 percent increase in print ad revenue for the year, their online editions are expected to post gains of about 30 percent.”

But online editions account for a meager 1 percent to 4 percent of total newspaper ad revenue, making catching up to poor print results difficult.