The New York Times, the self-proclaimed “Paper of Record,” set a record. Their saturated coverage of COVID-19, as with other media, boosted its total number of subscriptions, both for print and digital, reaching six million for the first time ever.
Yet, the ad revenue side was much bleaker. While overall subscription revenue increased over 5 percent for the first three months of 2020, ad revenues dropped over 15 percent.
The paper’s chief executive Mark Thompson predicts ad revenues will continue to drop, perhaps by as much as 55 percent over the next quarter.
Mr. Thompson did, however, voice confidence that the increase in subscriptions would keep the company strong.
Facebook Will Cure Your Loneliness
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a huge increase of users to Facebook’s social media platforms. According to C/Net, active users increased to 2.6 billion, up some 10 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago. And Facebook’s popular apps Instagram and WhatsApp attracted about three billion people.
Commenting on the huge numbers, CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated on 1 May, “In a time of disaster, people rely more on social service… People want to stay connected while being asked to maintain social distancing and eliminate loneliness.”
While Facebook’s first quarter revenues met Wall Street’s expectations, the company has made it clear there are uncertain times ahead. Ad spending dropped substantially, primarily due to the fact that almost one-third of its ads are from travel and films.
But Mr. Zuckerberg remains proud of Facebook’s “Coronavirus Information Center,” located at the top of all users’ News Feed. Back in March, Zuckerberg proclaimed, “The top priority and focus for us has been making sure people can get access to good authoritative information from trusted health sources.”
TRENDPOST: In the heartless, emotionless, Artificial Intelligence, algorithm geek world, they sell their soulless, mind-bending madness that texting, tweeting, zooming, etc., can “eliminate loneliness.”
Again, there are prolific revenue stream Ontrendpreneur® opportunities for new media outlets in print and broadcast and online that are not being optimized.
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