Newspaper Publishing

US newspaper publishing

According to media statistics the US newspaper publishing market grew from USD55 billion in 2002 to USD56.5 billion in 2003—a growth of 2.7 percent, driven by strong advertising revenues. Newspapers benefited from an improvement in the overall economy in 2003, as both corporate and individual advertising spending looked up. Newspaper advertising revenues for 2003 totaled USD44.9 billion and contributed 79 percent to the total revenues.  Retail advertising has made the largest contribution of USD21.3 billion. Classified revenues totaled USD15.8 billion and national advertising stood at USD7.8 billion.

More than 55 million newspapers are sold daily throughout the US, with an average of 2.3 readers per copy. On a typical Sunday, more than 58.8 million newspaper copies are sold in the US, with an average of 2.4 readers per copy. There has been considerable churn in circulation and this is posing challenges to newspaper companies especially in a ‘do not call’ environment. ‘USA Today’ has the highest circulation of 2.28 million followed by ‘Wall Street Journal,’ with a circulation of 2.1 million. US publishers are facing stiff competition from the online dissemination of news, which is particularly popular among younger readers.

Europe newspaper publishing

The European newspaper publishing industry accounted for USD71.37 billion in 2003, and constitutes 37 percent of the global market. The principal revenue source for the European newspaper market in 2003 was copy sales, which accounted for around 75 percent of the total value.

The UK, Germany and France represent the leading newspaper markets in Europe. In Germany, France, Spain and Sweden, there is a strong local and regional newspaper market on account of regional affinities and the preferences of readers. In Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland, the newspaper market divides along linguistic lines. The strong regional markets in these countries and lack of developed national newspaper markets relegate the national press to second slot. Only the Netherlands and the UK have a significant national media market for newspapers; although Italy has a national newspaper market, it has failed to attain maturity.

Overall, newspaper circulation has been declining in Europe, however, the market is expected to grow slowly, driven by advertising revenues.

UK newspaper publishing

The UK newspaper publishing market was the largest in the European Union in 2003. It recorded continual decline during the period 1999–2003, declining by 0.80 percent to GBP9.27 billion in 2003 compared with GBP9.35 billion in 2002. Copy sales was the leading source of revenue for the sector, with over 73 percent of the market.

In recent years, the newspaper market has had to cope with competition from new sources such as the Internet and the cable and satellite television industry , which consequently put pressure on circulation. Now, many titles are focusing on lifestyle issues, adding new sections and stand-alone supplements to retain their readers. About 12.5 million copies are sold daily in the UK with The Sun and Daily Mirror leading the pack.
 
Leading Groups: the UK national newspaper market is highly concentrated, with a handful of media industry groups enjoying a high degree of control. The market leader, with The Sun and The Times in its fold, is News Corporation, followed by Trinity Mirror.

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