By: Jay DeFoore For the newspaper companies releasing Q3 results this week and next, the one silver lining in a mostly dark cloud is likely to be increases in online earnings.
On Wednesday, Media General Inc. announced that third quarter revenues for its Interactive Media division rose 49.3% over the same period in 2004 to a quarterly record $5.3 million. The growth was attributed to higher local advertising revenues, which increased by 26%. The division?s total revenues include advergaming and advertising revenues from Blockdot Inc., which was acquired on July 18.
Still, the division posted a third-quarter loss of $918,000, which improved nearly 40% from the third quarter of 2004.
For September, revenue for Media General?s interactive division rose 50.2% to $1.7 million. The monthly growth was driven by a 52.3% increase in classified advertising and a 27.9% increase in local advertising.
Interactive revenue was still just a small portion of the company?s overall total for the month, which came in at $71.4 million, an increase of 3.1% from September 2004.
The company?s interactive media assets include more than 50 online enterprises that are associated with its newspapers and television stations, including Web sites for The Tampa Tribune, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Winston-Salem Journal.
Media General Inc. September Revenues| Revenues (000) | 2005 | 2004 | +/- |
| Publishing | $71,389 | $69,242 | 3.1% |
| Broadcast | 45,740 | 43,865 | 4.3% |
| Interactive | 1,658 | 1,104 | 50.2% |
Selected Online Page Views for September| Property | 2005 | 2004 | +/- |
| TBO.com | 18,624,758 | 45,810,809 | -59.3% |
| TimesDispatch.com | 9,587,938 | 7,983,756 | 20.1% |
| JournalNow.com | 3,788,167 | 3,051,994 | 24.1% |
SOURCE: Media General, Inc.
Web Site:
www.mediageneral.com
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