Newspaper Ad Spending Drops Least in Four Years As Web Sales Strengthen

U.S. newspaper publishers reported the smallest drop in second-quarter advertising spending in four years as online sales strengthened, Newspaper Association of America data show.

Overall ad sales shrunk 5.6 percent from a year earlier to $6.44 billion, the smallest second-quarter decline since 2006, according to the group. Online sales grew 14 percent to $743.9 million.

Online advertising has helped bolster revenue from advertisers as sales of print editions shrank, contributing to 16 straight quarters of ad-spending declines. Web sales have grown in the first two quarters of this year.

“The fact that online now represents nearly 12 percent of overall newspaper advertising revenues bodes well for our medium’s future in an increasingly digital environment,” John Sturm, chief executive officer of the NAA, said in an e-mailed statement.

Retail advertising, the largest sales category, fell 9.6 percent to $3.22 billion, according to the Arlington, Virginia- based group. Classified advertising shrank 6.3 percent and national print ads declined 3.1 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Amy Thomson in New York at athomson6@bloomberg.net

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