News Media Group revenue for the quarter decreased 1.5 percent to $616.8 million. Advertising revenue declined 5.3 percent, while circulation revenue rose 4.7 percent.
In the quarter, total digital advertising revenue decreased 4.9 percent to $95.7 million, due to declines at About Group, an information website the Times Co. owns. Digital advertising revenue at the News Media Group increased 5.3 percent to $71.1 million due to growth in national and retail display advertising. Total digital ad revenue for the year decreased 0.8 percent to $338.7 million, due mainly to declines in cost-per-click and display advertising at About. Digital advertising revenues accounted for 27.7 percent of total company ad revenues, compared with 26.3 percent in 2010.
Subscribers to digital packages and e-reader versions of The Times and the International Herald Tribune totaled approximately 390,000 as of the end of the fourth quarter, an increase of 20 percent from the third quarter. Paid digital subscribers to the Globe’s e-readers and BostonGlobe.com - which launched as a paid site in October - totaled approximately 16,000 as of the end of 2011.
“In 2011, we made significant strides in our strategy to transform and rebalance our company,’’ said Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the Times Co.’s chairman and chief executive. “Our fourth-quarter results demonstrate the continued focus on building The Times’s digital subscription base and developing a new robust consumer revenue stream, while maintaining its significant digital advertising business.’’
In a memo to employees yesterday, Globe publisher Christopher M. Mayer said that BostonGlobe.com attracted 1.3 million unique visitors in December, and Boston.com, the Globe’s free site, drew 5.9 million unique visitors that month. Taken together, the sites increased the Globe’s total online audience.
“We’re pleased with these early results and look forward to continuing to innovate, expanding the audience for the Globe across all platforms,’’ Mayer wrote.
