FT Ad Revenues Rise, Providing Platform For New Model

As the Financial Times moves further toward an advertising-supported online publishing model, there’s some further context today on the reason for that switch. Advertising revenue across the print edition and FT.com rose nine percent in the first nine months of this year, according to a trading update issued by parent Pearson today. That’s quite impressive compared with other publishers, many of whom are noticing only a slight ad recovery. And it’s growing faster still, having been lower at seven percent in the first six months alone; the publisher expects double-digit growth by year’s end. FT last month announced it was partially dropping its £98.99-a-year pay wall, allowing users to read articles up to 30 times a month for free (five without registering).