WORLD PRESS TRENDS - World Association of Newspapers

ITALY
Commentary - FIEG
Italy is in a similar situation to other European countries. There
is not yet any firm evidence of an economic revival, considering
that GDP grew by only 0.4% in real terms in 2002 , and is not
expected to grow much faster in 2003 (perhaps by 1.4%).
The decline in advertising expenditure is result of the poor
economic climate. After the boom years of 1999 and 2000, when
advertising expenditure grew by 12% and 15% respectively, the
declines in 2001 and 2002 of about 3% seem particularly painful.
The current situation provides cause for more concern: news of
stormy times, budget cuts and profit warnings appears almost
daily, depressing consumer sentiment. In the short term such a
situation could lead many advertisers to cut their budgets even
further.
The current downturn in advertising has adversely affected most
media, but it has particularly hurt the press. In 2002 ad
expenditure in daily newspapers fell by 5.5%; local advertising
actually increased by 2.5%, but national advertising shrank by
11.3%.
The slowdown in the ad market has had immediate
consequences for gross operating margins of daily newspapers,
which slipped from 7.4% in 2001 to 4.9% in 2002. The changes
in cover prices (about +12%) has balanced the decline of
circulation (-2.8%) and the drop in ad revenue. Total revenue
(advertising + circulation revenues) rose only sluggishly, by
1.2%, while production costs grew by 4.0%. Out of 61 daily
newspapers taking part in FIEG’s annual survey, it is estimated
that only 33 made a profit in 2002, while 28 made a loss.
The 2002 circulation figures are encouraging mainly for local
and regional newspapers, which recorded a 1% increase in total
circulation, as did sport newspapers. National newspapers,
however, are finding it difficult to maintain their circulation
levels. Demand for local news is expected to continue to
increase.
Readership figures for daily newspapers as a whole are
encouraging. According to the last Audipress survey, over 40%
of the adult population (more that 20 million people) read a
daily newspapers every day. This means that readers are still
loyal to the newspapers they read.
The slowdown in advertising expenditure has left most
publishers short of funds. Many have had to scale back their
development plans, particularly their online ventures. There is
more scepticism about whether online activities can ever be
profitable with advertising as the sole source of revenue,
particularly at the moment, when internet advertising has stalled
at a low level. Some publishers have invested very heavily in
online projects, but have now had to redefine or discontinue
their projects for cost reasons.
One solution adopted by an increasing number of publishers is
the gradual introduction of paid-for services, but even if some
publishers eventually build up enough subscribers to become
profitable, it will taken them a long time to do so.
POPULATION
Adult population by age and sex
All adults Male Female
000 % 000 % 000 %
14-17 2,203 4 1,121 5 1,082 4
18-24 5,195 10 2,676 11 2,519 10
25-34 9,179 18 4,641 19 4,538 18
35-44 8,608 17 4,317 18 4,291 17
45-54 7,595 15 3,763 16 3,832 15
55-64 6,959 14 3,318 14 3,641 14
64+ 10,197 20 4,186 17 6,011 23
Total 49,936 100 24,022 100 25,914 100
Source: Audipress 2001, Autumn (September-December)
Newspaper reach (%)
Daily Weekly Monthly
All adults 40.1 64.5 76.7
Men 50.9 76.5 85.4
Women 30.1 53.5 68.7
MHS 32.6 54.6 68.6
MHS: Main Household Shopper
Source: Eurisko
Adult population by social class and sex
All adults Male Female
000 % 000 % 000 %
AB 757 2 395 2 362 1
C1 6,648 13 3,440 14 3,208 12
C2 29,889 60 14,700 61 15,189 59
D 10,545 21 4,625 19 5,920 23
E 2,095 4 861 4 1,234 5
Total 49,934 100 24,021 100 25,913 100
Source: Audipress 2001, Autumn (September-December)
AB = entrepreneurs/professionals/managers
C1 = clerks/junior managerial/administrative
C2 = skilled manual workers
D = semi and unskilled manual workers
E = housewives/students/retired/unemployed
Age structure of readership (2002)
% of % daily reach within
Age readership age group
14-17 3.8 3.5
18-24 11.5 44.4
25-34 19.9 43.5
35-44 19.0 44.4
45-54 17.4 45.8
55-64 14.3 41.0
65+ 14.1 27.5
Source: Eurisko
WORLD ASSOCIATION OF NEWSPAPERS - WORLD PRESS TRENDS 2003 155