NI plans cross-title ad sales package offer

LONDON - News International is to cross-sell advertising across its stable of tabloid and quality newspapers for the first time, as part of several possible changes to its commercial operations.

The company is thought to be contemplating several options as it looks to cut costs from the sales operations of its newspapers The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and the News of the World.

Changes under consideration involve a merging of the ad sales operations of News Group, which houses The Sun and the News of the World and Times Media.

According to sources, however, News International is more likely to opt for retaining its existing, separate ad sales teams and instead set up a specialist unit to cut single deals with advertisers for campaigns to run across all of its newspaper titles.

The changes are being led by external adviser Boston Consulting Group, which has been drafted in by James Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of parent group News Corporation's European and Asian operations, to review News International's UK operations.

The ad sales operations of Times Media and News Group currently operate separately, with News Group running three teams that each separately cover a group of media agencies.

Should News International merge the ad sales operations of News Group and Times Media, it would be the first time a newspaper group has created a single ad sales team for multiple titles that straddle different readerships, embracing red-tops and qualities.

However, magazine publishers such as IPC and Bauer Consumer Media have previously made such changes.

One press agency source said: "It is possible to have one point of contact across the two brands and this would lead to cost savings.

"They will look at different models so they can flex their muscles as the biggest newsprint advertiser in the UK."

The potential changes to its operations come as it was revealed turnover at News Group tumbled by £20m during the year to the end of June 2007, to £623.3m.

Losses at Times Media, meanwhile, halved to £43.9m in the same period, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

Paul Hayes, managing director of Times Media, said: "With a new (NI) chairman, we are looking at the structure of our operations."

John Reynolds
MediaWeek
23rd April