New York Times Says Podcasts, Broader Content Mix Are Winning More Ad Dollars.

The New York Times reports its digital advertising revenues increased 31.6% year-over-year during the first quarter to $93 million. “This performance exceeded our expectations and was the result of a clear strategy, capable execution, strong marketer demand and high engagement across the portfolio,” CEO Meredith Kopit Levien told investors on an earnings call.

The Times doesn’t release podcast-specific results. But Kopit Levien said it has benefited by expanding its business in the areas where there is growing demand.

“We’ve deliberately chosen to operate in big spaces with lots of running room ahead,” she said. “Independent news coverage is a universal need, and our lifestyle products each address large global markets today.”

During an earnings call Wednesday, Kopit Levien said she believes that strategy has given the Times a structural advantage with advertisers.

“We play inside spaces that marketers want to be in,” she said. “We’ve been in the ad business a very long time. With the marketers who’ve been with us for years, there’s an opportunity to do more with them, because we’re in multiple different kinds of platforms and multiple different kinds of ad products that we can get sort of more share of wallet from marketers.”

The Times says it expects digital advertising revenues will increase in the high teens in Q2. And while news has often been a tough sell to some brands, Kopit Levien said by expanding their content into other areas it has opened doors. She pointed out they have launched a Sunday edition of “The Daily” focused on culture and debuted a new true crime podcast. “There are so many places for a marketer to be associated with the Times, but that go beyond some of the things that are less desirable in terms of places for a marketer to be. We really benefit from that,” she said.

While its podcast portfolio is growing, Kopit Levien said video is an important area of strategic investment. “We are confident in our ability to generate strong returns over the long term, as we grow the amount in impact of video journalism, in news and across the portfolio,” she told analysts.

Most of its podcasts now offer a video option and the paper added a “Watch” tab to its app in October to help make it easier to find the content.

“We’re seeing real engagement from it, but it’s early days,” Kopit Levien said. “The most important thing to say is we see video as a big, long-term opportunity for the Times, and what we’re really aiming for here is to establish the Times as a preferred brand for watching news and the other things we do, in addition to reading and listening.”

Overall, the Times reported total revenue increased 12% in the first quarter to $712.2 million. Total advertising revenue climbed 17.3% to $126.8 million — with print ads down 9.8% year to year. Its digital-only subscription revenues grew 16.1%, bringing the total number of subscribers to 13.08 million. The company has set a goal of reaching 15 million by the end of 2027.