Yahoo Signs Newspapers To Online Ad Consortium
New York – Yahoo! Inc. on Wednesday announced that 94 more newspapers have entered into the fold of its industry-leading partnership with U.S. local newspapers, adding the total number of newspapers in the Newspaper Consortium to 779 representing about 41% of total Sunday circulation.
“Ever since it commenced in November 2006, the Newspaper Consortium has more than quadrupled in size, comprising 32 companies and representing 41 percent of all Sunday circulation.”
The newest companies to enter the Newspaper Consortium are: the Sun-Times News Group, with its flagship paper, the Chicago Sun-Times, and 70 Chicago area newspapers; the Journal Sentinel along with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Canada-based Black Press, which includes the Akron Beacon Journal and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin; Stephens Media Group, including the Las Vegas Review Journal and 11 dailies; Independent Newspapers, publisher of the Delaware State News in Dover; and Yankton Media Inc., publisher of the Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan.
The addition of 94 newspapers brings the consortium’s total to almost 800. Terms of the deals were not announced.
“The Sun-Times News Group, which serves more than 200 communities in the Chicago area, reaches 4.2 million readers in print and online each week,” said Rick Surkamer, chief operating officer of the Sun-Times News Group. “We have been impressed with how Yahoo! and the Newspaper Consortium have jumpstarted the newspaper industry’s digital presence. Joining this transformational partnership is a solid step in reinforcing our dedication to our communities.”
The Newspaper Consortium carries on to deliver significant results, through the strong combination of partner newspapers’ rich local content and strong local market relationships, with Yahoo!’s highly-engaged community of users, technology and deep media expertise. Among the Newspaper Consortium’s achievements in the past 18 months since its launch are:
Nearly 600 newspapers have so far joined with Yahoo!’s “HotJobs” as their sole online recruitment solution, including major dailies in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Presently over 50 newspapers are participating in a pilot program selling DMA-targeted Yahoo! inventory to local advertisers.
Almost 150 newspapers have launched Yahoo! search products. And newspapers in the partnership now receive more than 10 million “referrals” a month from the distribution of news headlines across the Yahoo! network and through its services, including the Yahoo! home page, My Yahoo! and Yahoo! Instant Messenger.
More than 2,500 newspaper sales representatives have taken part in sales training sessions provided by Yahoo!
“The Newspaper Consortium is growing rapidly, both in membership and in the rollout of major initiatives, such as the ability for members to sell Yahoo! inventory to their local clients,” said Lem Lloyd, vice president, Newspaper Consortium for Yahoo!, Inc. “We are now in the middle of a all-encompassing sales training program designed to help the Consortium’s 6,000-plus sales representatives to take advantage of the new online tools they will soon be receiving from Yahoo!.”
The alliance allows newspapers — if they select — to integrate HotJobs into their offerings. Other prongs of the association include access to Yahoo’s advertising technology, the recently launched AMP which will give the members one common platform. In the summer, Yahoo expects to roll out AMP to its partners.
“Newspapers also have the capability to sell Yahoo’s local inventory to their clients.”
Member newspapers can also incorporate Yahoo!’s paid search technology into their sites, and take benefit of national distribution of their high-quality content across multiple Yahoo! properties and sites.
“Black Press publishes some of the oldest and most trusted community newspapers,” said Glenn Rogers, chief operating officer of Black Press, New Media. “Yahoo! truly understands and values the benefit we bring to our cities’ local communities and businesses, and the Newspaper Consortium enables us to stay at the forefront of what the digital age offers to us, our advertisers and our readers.”
“We are pleased to enter into this innovative partnership, which is building the newspaper industry’s first fully developed, integrated online advertising network,” said Elizabeth (Betsy) Brenner, president and chief operating officer of Journal Communications’ publishing group. “The Consortium significantly expands its members’ internet presence and is playing a critical role in the burgeoning media landscape. We are excited to be involved, as it represents a win-win situation for our advertisers and readers.”
“Stephens Media has strong roots in our hometowns, and we have been extending our internet presence to provide our readers with news they cannot get anywhere else on the Web – their hometown news,” said Sherman Frederick, president and CEO of Stephens Media LLC. “We believe that, with membership in the Newspaper Consortium, we will continue to provide meaningful news to our readers while keeping an eye on the future.”
Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo also announced on Wednesday new advertising deals with Wal-Mart Stores, CBS and Havas. Yahoo also will become the sole reseller of display advertising on Walmart.com and also will stream CBS’ television shows online.