New York Times digital advertising revenue grows in Q2

The New York Times saw subscriber and revenue growth in Q2, another data point suggesting that the broader ad market could be stabilizing.

Total revenue grew 6% to $591 million, and the publisher added 180,000 new digital subscribers, bringing its total subscriber count to almost 10 million. The publisher reported $47 million in profit during the second quarter, beating analyst expectations.

Digital advertising revenue grew 6.5% to $74 million, while print advertising revenue fell 8.6%. The company said “higher revenues from direct-sold and open-market programmatic advertising” were key to boosting its digital ad revenue.

Subscription revenue from digital-only offerings grew 13% to nearly $270 million. The Times attributed the growth to more subscribers paying higher subscription prices in addition to a rise in digital-only subscribers, as well as subscribers “upgrading to the bundle,” a product that provides access to Times properties like Wirecutter, The Athletic, and Cooking.

The earnings come as the publisher continues building on its bundle strategy in an effort to bring in more subscribers; it bought Wordle last year to boost its games segment.

“Our second-quarter results confirm our view that our essential subscription strategy is working as designed, with momentum in several key areas,” Meredith Kopit Levien, president and CEO of The New York Times Company, said in the earnings report, noting that “more than a third” of its subscribers “are now bundle or multiproduct subscribers.”

The Athletic, the sports outlet the publisher acquired last year, lost $7.8 million in the quarter, while its revenue grew 55% to $30 million. The sports-focused publisher started offering ad inventory in September. In June, it laid off close to 4% of its newsroom, or nearly 20 people, as part of internal restructuring efforts; the following month, the Times said it was disbanding its sports department and planned to rely on coverage from The Athletic instead.

In March, the Times hired Joy Robins as global chief advertising officer, who was previously CRO at the Washington Post. Last year, it hired former Amazon exec Mohit Lohia as SVP and head of digital advertising as part of the company’s effort to scale ads across its different properties.