- NYT added 250,000 digital-only subscribers in Q1
- Total subscribers reached over 11 million
- NYT said Q1 revenue rose 7.1%
- Digital ad revenue strong, but print weak
May 7 (Reuters) - The New York Times added more digital subscribers in the first quarter than Wall Street had expected and forecast robust subscription revenue ahead, boosted by its bundled offerings and a busy news cycle driving more readership.
The Times is benefiting from bundling its news offerings with lifestyle-focused products such as Wirecutter, sports website The Athletic and games including Wordle.
More readers have also turned to the publisher, which recently won four Pulitzer Prizes, for comprehensive news coverage amid a deepening Sino-U.S. trade war and growing economic uncertainty.
"Our strategy is working," CEO Meredith Kopit Levien said on Wednesday, adding the company was "well positioned to navigate an uncertain market environment."
NYT expects subscription revenue growth of 8% to 10% in the second quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of an 8.2% rise, according to data compiled by LSEG.
It also forecast a 13% to 16% increase in digital-only subscription revenue, above Visible Alpha estimates of 13.9%.
"This quarter's results, along with The Times's issued guidance, affirm that Donald Trump is still good for leading news brands' businesses," Emarketer analyst Max Willens said.
"While it might not be happening on the same level as it was during his first term, the chaos and disruption Trump has created appear to be rallying people to trusted sources of information."
The NYT added about 250,000 digital-only subscribers in the first quarter, beating Visible Alpha estimates of 248,000. It had 11.66 million total subscribers as of March-end.
Digital-only average revenue per user rose 3.6% to $9.54, but it was down about 1% sequentially.
Revenue climbed 7.1% to $635.9 million, beating LSEG-compiled estimates of $634.8 million, while adjusted profit per share of 41 cents exceeded estimates of 34 cents.
Digital ad revenue grew 12.4% to $70.9 million, while that from print fell 8.5%, primarily due to declines in the entertainment and luxury categories.
Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli
Source: Reuters