Although few require concrete evidence to confirm what most already sense to be patently obvious, eMarketer has published their latest findings and projections, which show that digital newspaper revenues will grow 8.6% to $3.3 billion in 2011.
If eMarketer’s projections manifest, the outcome will reflect a sobering reality for traditional print newspapers, the revenues of which will drop another 6% to $21.4 billion this year.
In addition to the mounting evidence that digital newspapers are accelerating in popularity to an entirely new degree, old-school print newspapers and magazines are continuing to endure limited growth if not an outright earnings washout.
On Thursday, a prominent example of declining revenues for traditional print media was apparent.
Revenue for the New York Times fell to $566.5 million from $587.9 million a year earlier. Industry and Wall Street analysts had projected $569 million.
NYTimes.com, however, continues to enjoy steady growth. The site remains the world’s most viewed English-language newspaper website with 62 million unique monthly visitors, according to comScore.
Of course, the venerable publication hasn’t been without its fair share of electronic hurdles.
In the first two weeks of the NY Times’ new digital paywall, user traffic and site usage plummeted by as much as 15% on some days.
