Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Local TV and radio online ad growth rates double newspapers'

Just when you thought the future for Newspapers couldn't look any bleaker,paidcontent.org warns of darker clouds on the horizon for anyone in the print media. TV and Radio's ad growth rate has doubled that of Newspapers since 2002

According to media analyst Borrell Associates, this is due to the industry-wide reliance on the wrong type of ad formats.

Standard-format ads - banners, pop-ups, tiles and classified listings... will comprise 50.6 percent of all local online spending in 2008 and only 13.4 percent in 2013.From 2002 to the end of this year, local newspaper sites’ growth rate is expected to have amounted to 33.5 percent gains, compounded annually. Local TV and radio station sites, during this same period, are projected to have grown 67.2 percent and 69.9 percent on that same basis

As a former member of the print media, I can personally vouch for the bleak future of their role in classified advertising. Sites such as Ebay,Craigslist and Yahoo's freecycle are just a few of the many choices consumers have when searching for products or employment. To minimize the impact, several major publishers- Gannett, Knight Ridder,McClatchy and Tribune, have partnered with careerbuilder.com, where many begin their job search. (Careerbuilder also has an agreement with Facebook)

What are the solutions for newspapers? Well, if you can't beat them, join them. For example, Brevard County's daily newspaper, Florida Today supplements its online articles with video reports. The reports are preceded by brief ads from local companies. Florida Today essentially conceded to the fact that most American's favor the 30-second clip compared to a three-column,in-depth feature story.

By Matt O'Hern at 01:36 PM | Comments (0)

Post a Comment