New York Times reports strong first-quarter earnings

The New York Times Company on Wednesday reported first-quarter results exceeding analyst expectations, with the 167-year-old publication company showing increases in digital advertising and subscriptions that eclipse its continued decline in revenue in print.

The Times’s total number of paid subscriptions surpassed 4.5 million, an all-time high for the company. Of that number, more than 3.5 million of those subscriptions were digital. The company also added 223,000 customers for its news, crossword and news applications during the quarter, marking nearly a 30 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2018. 

{mosads}Revenues from online advertising were $55 million, a 19 percent increase. The Times says that revenue was particularly boosted by its podcast business, notably “The Daily,” hosted by political journalist Michael Barbaro.

“The breadth and depth of our news report have allowed us to spin out two highly successful digital products beyond core news, NYT Cooking and Crossword,” said Mark Thompson, president and chief executive officer of The New York Times Company.

“This quarter, our Crossword product passed the 500,000 total subscription mark, which makes it, in its own right, the 5th largest digital subscription product from a U.S. news provider. And today, we launched our newest product, Parenting, in beta.”

“We saw very good year-over-year growth in digital advertising while total advertising was flat,” he continued. “Subscription revenues made up two-thirds of the Company’s revenues and for the first time, digital-only subscription revenue was more than a quarter of total Company revenue. We will continue to invest in our journalism, product and marketing at elevated levels to attract and retain large numbers of new subscribers to The Times.”

The Times is often targeted by President Trump for its reporting, calling reports that don’t cast a favorable light on his administration “fake news” and labeling the company as “the failing New York Times.”

On Wednesday morning, the president lashed out at the Times over a piece published Tuesday that reported on his businesses losses. He labeled the newspaper’s story a “highly inaccurate Fake News hit job!”