The continuing fall in advertising revenue for the New York Times (NYSE:NYT) has generated a cut in the credit rating of the declining paper, as Standard & Poor's Rating Services dropped the senior unsecured debt rating, along with the corporate credit rating, from "BBB" to "BBB-."
A rating of "BBB-" puts the paper's credit rating at one step away from being a "junk bond."
"The rating downgrade reflects a worsening pace of decline in advertising revenue at the company's newspaper publications," said S&P credit analyst Emile Courtney in a statement.
With a negative outlook, it's considered very possible that the credit rating at the paper could suffer another downgrade.
It will take the company years before Web revenue will replace offline revenue, according to S&P.
Contrast that with The Wall Street Journal and USA Today - the nations largest newspapers - which enjoyed increases in circulation.
Circulation Results for top three newspapers in America:
1. USA Today, 2,284,219, up 0.3 percent
2. Wall Street Journal, 2,069,463, up 0.4 percent
3. New York Times, 1,077,256, down 3.9 percent
» The Wall Street Journal Versus the New York Times: Will there even be a Battle? from ManagersRealm
New York Times one step away from Junk Bond status! The announcement today that the New York Times (NYSE:NYT) corporate credit rating and senior unsecured debt rating had been cut by the Standard & Poor's Rating Services to one level above... [Read More]
Tracked on: April 29, 2008 9:46 PM | Permalink to Trackback