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The New York Times Co. reported a 6.1 percent rise in Q1 revenues to $439M, driven largely by a 55.8 percent surge in cash generated from events, licensing, commercial printing, rentals and retail commerce.
Subscription revenues advanced 3.9 percent to $270M, while advertising sales were flat at $125M. The “other revenues” category grew to $43.2M. Operating profit inched ahead by 1.6 percent to $34.6M.
CEO Mark Thompson said the company completed “another strong” quarter as it moves toward its goal of 10M total subscriptions by 2025.
The NYTC added 223K digital-only subs, of which 144K were for its flagship publication. Thompson noted that the Crossword digital product passed the 500K subscriber mark, making it the No. 5 pay site from a US media company.
Thompson anticipates a “low-to mid-single digit growth” in subscription revenues during the current quarter and digital-only subs increasing in the mid-teens.”
Total ad revenues are expected to be flat though digital ad revnues are expected to advance in the mid-teens.
During his conference call, Thompson said the newsroom has grown to an all-time high of 1,600 staffers. He promised to add more people in 2019.
Thompson boasted that the investigative reporting of the Times drives not only “user engagement and digital subscriptions, but also drives America’s and the world’s agenda."
He noted that The Mueller Report cited NYT coverage more than 100 times, a number greater than any other news source.
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. has replaced CEO and former California Congressman Devin Nunes with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media sales executive.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
