Updated Statistics Canada data on newspaper publishers

Statistics Canada has published updated information available on the newspaper industry based on the year 2016.

Industry data includes revenue, operating expenses, advertising revenue and circulation revenue.  The data released on December 8, 2017 finds that the newspaper publishing industry reported $3.2 billion in operating revenue in 2016, down 19.8 per cent from the previous survey, conducted in 2014.

“Advertising sales accounted for 63.0 per cent of total sales in 2016, followed by circulation sales (23.3 per cent). Both revenue streams declined in dollar terms compared with 2014, with advertising sales falling 21.8 per cent and circulation sales down 10.0 per cent.

As newspaper publishers continue to create a digital presence and transition to digital products, there has been a steady decline in print advertising sales, while digital advertising sales have remained relatively unchanged. In 2016, print advertising accounted for 86.2 per cent of total advertising sales, down from 89.2 per cent in 2014, with digital advertising accounting for the remainder.

Newspaper publishers reported $687.9 million in total circulation sales in 2016. The largest contributor was from print circulation sales ($660.2 million), with digital circulation sales accounting for the remaining $27.8 million.”

The survey, conducted by Statistics Canada every 2 years, collects data to produce economic stats for the Canadian newspaper publishing industry. It is administered as part of the Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP).

The survey results can be accessed online along with detailed tables.