|
wsj.com
Paid online subscriptions: Good business for WSJ.com |
On Jan. 25,
Dow Jones reported a 5.6 percent year-over-year increase in paid subscriptions to
WSJ.com, the companion site to The Wall Street Journal. (The company is moving more toward breaking news online, while publishing depth and analysis in print, as are many publications.) WSJ.com now has 811,000 paid subscribers, the company said.
Two stock analysts praised the company for its online growth. Lauren Rich Fine of Merrill Lynch called Dow Jones "one of the few publishers with an aggressive, proactive attitude that incorporates a variety of online strategies." Also, Debra Schwarz of Credit Suisse said, "We like the mix shift of the business, increased visibility of stabilization in local media, and superior growth potential from consumer media for 2007."
For context: In December 2006, Dow Jones announced the sale of six local newspapers: The News-Times (Danbury, Conn.), the Daily Star (Oneonta, N.Y.), the Press-Republican (Plattsburgh, N.Y.), the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, Calif.), the Daily Item (Sunbury, Pa.), and the Traverse City Record-Eagle (Traverse City, Mich.).
