NY Times hits major milestone while crushing Q2 earnings

For the first time in NY Times history, digital-only subscription revenue ($82.5 million) has surpassed print advertising revenue ($77 million). Those numbers were revealed during the paper's second quarter earnings call to investors Thursday, when executives also touted an increase in advertising growth from the previous year's quarter — the first time that has occurred in nearly three years.

Why it matters: The Times' lofty vision for doubling its' digital revenue by 2020 to hit $800 million seems less far off now that digital-only subscription revenue has exploded — (it's up 46% year over year). Investors worried that digital growth driven solely by advertising wouldn't be enough to offset print advertising losses, especially in an increasingly competitive digital advertising environment. Print advertising revenue, which sustained the company's finances for years and still accounts for a large portion of the company's overall profits, has been in steady decline. (See more below.)

By the numbers, NYT crushed their second quarter earnings:

• Revenue: UP — $407 million for Q2, up 9% year-over-year (YOY)
• Advertising revenue: UP — $132 million, up .75% YOY
• Digital advertising revenue: UP — $55 million, up 23% YOY
• Print advertising: DOWN — $77 million, down 11% YOY
• p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 17.0px Georgia; color: #333333; -webkit-text-stroke: #333333} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} Digital-only subscriptions: UP — Added 93,000 bringing total to 2.3 million digital-only subscriptions (includes Crossword)
• Digital-only subscription revenue: UP — $83 million, up 46% YOY

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