Will link papers, TV and magazines

by Dirk Smillie

      When The New York Times Co.  consolidates its portfolio of 50 web sites into a single business unit, Times Company Digital, online media buyers will have a lot more options to choose from.
      The Times, in announcing the consolidation, said the new unit will offer a higher profile for Times web sites and pave the way for cross-site advertising and more targeted sales and promotion efforts, perhaps by the end of the year.
      Along with ‘‘All the news that's fit to print,’‘ Times' web sites are increasingly home to all the banners that are fit to click. In 1998 the sites drew $18 million in revenue, of which two-thirds were ad dollars. The remaining one-third came from sales of Times content, e-commerce and access charges to Times archives.
      In 1999 revenues are projected at $24-$26 million, with a similar majority coming from ad sales. More than half of the revenues will come from The Times main site, The New York Times on the Web.
      That's largely due to the success of The Times user registration system, says Anne Tucher, an analyst at J.P. Morgan Securities. The highly targeted system has helped maintain CPM levels ranging from $30-$40.
      When any of the 7 million registered users click into the site, on-screen ads appear based on self-reported income and interests. In the case of automobile ads, for example, an older user might see a banner for a luxury sedan, while a younger visitor would be pitched a sporty coupe.
       The New York Times on the Web, launched in January 1996, draws about 500,000 new registered
users a month. Those who sign-up spend an average 32 minutes per month at the site, more than
any other comparable news and information site, according to Media Metrix.
      Last month the site delivered 2.4 million unique visitors, two-thirds of whom are male. Visitors' average household income is $80,700; 34 percent own an American Express card.
        Advertisers on the site use a proprietary version of Real Media's Open AdStream that targets ads to specific profiles culled from the site's database of more than 7 million registered users. The list of targeting elements include age, gender, household income, zip code, the type of browser one uses and even the time of day users click-in.
       The new internet unit will function like a high-end web portal, coordinating advertising across
a rich landscape of Times' owned new media properties, including web sites for the Boston Globe and 21 other regional newspapers; three magazines, including Golf Digest; eight network-affiliated television stations and two New York radio stations. A single ad buy from Times
Company Digital, then, could roll across all 50 Times sites.
        The announcement on Monday fueled speculation on Wall Street that plans are underway for an IPO of the new unit. ‘‘Right now, a lot of investors aren't giving The Times the credit it deserves for its new-media holdings,’‘ says Tucher.
        Creating a new business unit could be the first step toward taking it public, ‘‘but it's not a done deal by any means,’‘ she believes.
       While no one should expect an announcement any time soon, says Times spokesperson Lisa Carparelli,
‘‘it's something we've explored and will continue to look at.’‘

Dirk Smillie is a New York writer.