The Australian today had reported on a second quarter loss by News Corp.
News Corp posted a loss in the second quarter amid a challenging print advertising environment for its newspaper and information-services unit and foreign currency headwinds.
The company — which publishes The Australian as well as other newspapers in Australia, the US and UK — reported a loss from continuing operations of $US219 million, compared with a profit of $US106 million a year earlier.
The report reveals News Corp. wrote down down the value of Australian fixed assets by $US310 million. The digital focus is ramping up:
To make up for lost print advertising revenue amid rapidly changing market conditions and to position the company for long-term growth, News Corp is boosting digital revenue streams even faster.
Digital revenues now account for 27 per cent of revenues at the news and information services segment, compared to 22 per cent in the prior year.
Newsagents should read the whole article.
By putting 2 comments from the reports together……
“growth in the Digital Real Estate Services and Book Publishing segments was more than offset by lower advertising revenues at the News and Information Services”
with
” impairment charge of $310 million, primarily related to the write-down of the fixed assets at the Australian newspapers”
You get the clear impression that Australian print is a yoke around the global operation. Major announcements on this underperforming division cannot be far away.
In 2010 The Advertiser M-F Circulation was 180,000
2016 120,000
I just read a article from FT, Books are back because Amazon likes them. https://www.ft.com/content/f8bd3938-ed4d-11e6-ba01-119a44939bb6
“The signs of the book’s renaissance all around… Sales of print books in the US rose by 3 per cent, while those of ebooks have fallen.”
“That is the new reality: ebooks from publishers such as Penguin Random House and HarperCollins often cost more than hardbacks as well as paperbacks. Mr Bezos’s efforts a decade ago to promote mass adoption of the Kindle by discounting bestsellers to $9.99 and making ebooks cheaper than books has faded. It is now the other way round: Amazon favours print.”
“Amazon signed fresh deals with publishers two years ago that limited ebook discounting and prices rose soon afterwards. Hardbacks and paperbacks are relatively cheap because Amazon discounts them; ebooks are expensive because it does so less.”
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My taking from reading this article, is that digital format provide a free or cheap media that is killing the printed media. Major players in printed media should make the deal similar to ebooks and printed books, on magazines and newspapers.
I just wonder why News Ltd in Australia does not discount their daily paper to 50 Cents a copy (of course giving newsagents current margin) and charge standard price online.