By Christopher B. Daly
The NYTimes Co. reports some good news: the company operated in the black last quarter, and it did so no thanks to advertising. What carried the news operation into profitability was the surge in online readers who are actually paying for content. Here are the key results:
Circulation revenue rose 5.1 percent, to $245.1 million, from $233.3 million. But that gain was largely offset by a 5.8 percent decline in advertising revenue, to $207.5 million.
The number of paid subscribers to the Web site, e-reader and other digital editions of The Times and The International Herald Tribune grew to 699,000, a jump of more than 35 percent from the period a year earlier. Digital subscriptions to The Boston Globe and BostonGlobe.com rose to 39,000, an increase of nearly 70 percent from 23,000 a year earlier.
If you are a paying customer of the Times, pat yourself on the back. If not, PAY UP!
