Newspaper Publishers Industry Overview

Excerpt from Newspaper Publishers Report

Companies in this industry publish newspapers in print and electronic forms. Major companies include US-based Gannett, McClatchy, Advance Publications, Tribune Company, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, as well as Italian holding company COFIDE, Germany's Axel Springer, Japan's Asahi Shimbun, and the UK's Daily Mail and General Trust.

Competitive Landscape

The health of the economy drives both advertising and readership. The profitability of individual companies depends on marketing expertise, as most costs are fixed. Large companies benefit from economies of scale in sharing resources and by providing a range of outlets for advertisers. Small publishers can compete successfully by serving smaller markets. The industry is highly concentrated: the top 50 companies control almost 80 percent of the market.

Products, Operations & Technology

Products include daily, weekly, monthly, and Sunday newspapers; Internet news services; and distribution services. Large circulation newspapers are usually produced daily; community newspapers are usually produced weekly. More than 70 percent of industry revenue comes from sales of advertising space ("advertising revenue"), and only about 20 percent from subscription and single-copy sales ("circulation revenue"). Some papers are controlled-circulation papers – they're free to a targeted audience and receive revenue only from advertising.