The Washington Post Company
(
WPO
) announced the completion of the divestiture of its daily and
Sunday newspaper,
The Herald
, based in Everett, WA,
La Raza
, to Black Press Ltd. and its subsidiary Sound Publishing.
Bleak economic conditions, along with waning advertising
demand, have been weighing upon this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock's
performance, and compelled it to take the tough decision of
offloading the newspaper, along with its print and online
products, which it has owned since 1978.
The Washington Post Company's newspaper division has been
struggling for quite sometime with revenues declining 7% to
$581.7 million in 2012. Moreover, operating loss widened
significantly to $53.7 million in 2012 compared with $21.2
million in 2011.
Earlier, the company had revealed its intention of shedding 2
shipping terminals in Alexandria and was seeking buyers to sell
its headquarters housed in Northwest Washington. These
initiatives are significant of The Washington Post Company's
efforts to shield itself from the impact of an unstable
market.
Other than
The Washington Post
, there are other publishing companies which are shedding assets.
The New York Times Company
(
NYT
) completed the sale of About Group, which it acquired in 2005,
to
InterActiveCorp
(
IACI
) for a consideration of $300 million, divested its remaining
stake (210 Class B units) in the Fenway Sports Group and sold
Regional Media Group.
Moreover, the company intends to sell its New England Media
Group, including
The Boston Globe
and its allied properties.
The publishing industry as a whole has been struggling with
sinking advertising revenues and declining circulation as more
and more readers are gradually choosing free online news, thereby
making the print-advertising model increasingly irrelevant. To
curb shrinking advertising revenues and seek new revenue
generating avenues, the publishing companies are contemplating
charging readers for online content.
Companies like
News Corporation
(
NWSA
) have taken a leap toward an online subscription-based model for
general news content. The New York Times Company is another such
company which initiated a pricing system for its NYTimes.com.
Publishing companies are gradually adapting themselves to the
changing scenario and transforming their business models in order
to better position themselves in a multi-platform media
universe.
IAC/INTERACTIV (IACI): Free Stock Analysis
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NEWS CORP INC-A (NWSA): Free Stock Analysis
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NY TIMES A (NYT): Free Stock Analysis Report
WASHINGTON POST (WPO): Free Stock Analysis
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