Postmedia’s digital revenue up amid staggering losses

While Postmedia has continued to take a hit in print advertising and circulation revenue, digital revenues are actually up in the latest quarter. It's the first quarter since the newspaper chain implemented paywalls or paid subscription models at all of its newspapers' websites.

While Postmedia has continued to take a hit in print advertising and circulation revenue, digital revenues are actually up in the latest quarter. It's the first quarter since the newspaper chain implemented paywalls or paid subscription models at all of its newspapers' websites.

The Financial Post, citing an internal memo sent by the owner of the company, reported the newspaper chain has nearly 100,000 registered subscribers across its subscription bundles. The majority of those subscribers already have a print subscription and signed up for free online access, according to the Financial Post.

Postmedia reported a net loss of $112.2 million for the quarter ending May 31, compared to a net loss of $12.1 million in the same period the year before. The company stated that the increase was mainly due to a $93.9 million write-down.

Digital revenue was up $500,000 to $24.1 million, a 2.2 per cent increase from the same period the year before. A decline in print advertising revenue (13.5 per cent) and print circulation revenue (5.9 per cent) also contributed to the losses as overall revenue for the quarter ($191.8 million) was down 9.5 per cent, or $20.2 million, compared to the same period the year before.  

Postmedia president and CEO Paul Godfrey said in a statement that the quarter showed progress with the transformation plan that is currently in place. The company "will continue on this path," he said, "transforming a traditional media company into one that leverages future opportunities with a structure that supports a new model.”