Annual survey of newspaper publishers

2001 was a challenging year for the Canadian newspaper publishing industry, as publishers faced a slowing economy, the impact of September 11, declining advertising and circulation revenues, and rising newsprint costs. In addition, the costs of waging Toronto's well-publicized newspaper war contributed to a steep decline in profits in Ontario.

Operating revenues for the newspaper publishing industry were $4.56 billion in 2001, down 2.4% from $4.67 billion in 2000. Advertising revenues, the main source of revenue for the industry, decreased 2.6%. Circulation revenuesn also fell about 2% in 2001 after having remained steady the previous year.

Operating expenses rose from $3.98 billion in 2000 to $4.03 billion in 2001, an increase of 1.4%. Salaries, wages and benefits, which account for 40% of operating expenses, fell 2.3% as publishers trimmed their workforces. However, this drop was more than offset by increased contract printing and delivery expenses.

As a result of falling revenues and increasing expenses, the operating profit margin for the industry decreased from 14.8% in 2000 to 11.5% in 2001. The profit margin among Ontario publishers fell furthest, from 11.6% to 5.3%, as Toronto area publishers competed for market share. Ontario newspaper publishers account for 45% of total operating revenues for the industry.

In recent years, the Canadian newspaper publishing industry has witnessed numerous changes in ownership. One result of these changes has been a decline in the proportion of nationwide operating revenues in the hands of the largest publishers. In 2001, the five largest newspaper owners generated 73% of total operating revenues for the industry, compared with 82% in 1999.

At the provincial level, it takes fewer newspaper owners to generate similar revenue shares. In 2001, in 8 of the 10 provinces, three or fewer newspaper owners earned more than 80% of total provincial operating revenues; in the remaining two provinces, the three largest owners accounted for more than 70%.

Available on CANSIM: table 361-0003.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 4710.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Peter Kalhok (613-951-0663; fax: 613-951-6696; peter.kalhok@statcan.gc.ca), or Allison Bone (951-3010; 613-951-6696; allison.bone@statcan.gc.ca), Service Industries Division.