Full Description

The New York Times Company, incorporated in August 26, 1896, is a diversified media company, including newspapers, Internet businesses, a radio station, investments in paper mills and other investments. The Company is organized in two segments: News Media Group and the About Group. Additionally, the Company owns equity interests in a Canadian newsprint company, a supercalendered paper manufacturing partnership in Maine, and Metro Boston LLC (Metro Boston), which publishes a free daily newspaper in the greater Boston area. In February 2008, it acquired a 25% ownership interest in quadrantONE LLC (quadrantONE), an online advertising network that sells bundled premium, targeted display advertising onto local newspaper and other Websites. The Websites of the New England and Regional Media Groups participate in this network. The Company also owns a 17.75% interest in New England Sports Ventures, LLC (NESV), which owns the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park and adjacent real estate, approximately 80% of New England Sports Network (the regional cable sports network that televises the Red Sox games) and 50% of Roush Fenway Racing, a NASCAR team. In July 2009, the Company's Boston Globe Media announced the launch of a new business division that specializes in the creation and management of events and experiential marketing programs.

News Media Group

The News Media Group segment consists of The New York Times Media Group, which includes The New York Times (The Times), NYTimes.com, the International Herald Tribune (the IHT), IHT.com, its New York City radio station, WQXR-FM and related businesses, the New England Media Group, which includes The Boston Globe (the Globe), Boston.com, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, in Worcester, Massachusetts (the T&G), the T&G's Website, Telegram.com and related businesses, and the Regional Media Group, which includes 15 daily newspapers in Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina, other print publications and related businesses.

The majority of the News Media Group's revenue is derived from advertising sold in its newspapers and other publications and on its Websites. The Company divides such advertising into three basic categories: national, retail and classified. Advertising revenue also includes preprints, which are advertising supplements. The Times is circulated in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and worldwide. Approximately 46% of the weekday (Monday through Friday) circulation is sold in the 31 counties that make up the greater New York City area, which includes New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and parts of upstate New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 54% is sold elsewhere. On Sundays, approximately 41% of the circulation is sold in the greater New York City area and 59% elsewhere. Approximately 64% of the weekday and 72% of the Sunday circulation was sold through home-delivery during the fiscal year ended December 28, 2008 (fiscal 2008) and the remainder was sold primarily on newsstands.

The Times's Website, NYTimes.com, reaches audiences across the New York metropolitan region, the nation and around the world. NYTimes.com derives its revenue primarily from the sale of advertising. Advertising is sold to both national and local customers and includes online display advertising (banners, half-page units, interactive multi-media), classified advertising (help-wanted, real estate, automobiles) and contextual advertising (links supplied by Google). NYTimes.com also includes the financial results of Baseline StudioSystems (Baseline), an online subscription database and research service for information on the film and television industries, and a provider of premium film and television data to Web publishers.

The IHT, a daily (Monday through Saturday) newspaper is printed at 35 sites throughout the world and is sold in more than 180 countries. During fiscal 2008, the IHT's average circulation was 240,322 (estimated). During fiscal 2008, 60% of the circulation was sold in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 38% was sold in the Asia Pacific region and 2% was sold in the Americas.

The New York Times Media Group's other businesses include The New York Times Index, which produces and licenses The New York Times Index, a print publication; Digital Archive Distribution, which licenses electronic archive databases to resellers of that information in the business, professional and library markets, and The New York Times News Services Division. The New York Times News Services Division is made up of Syndication Sales, which transmits articles, graphics and photographs from The Times, the Globe and other publications to over 1,500 newspapers and magazines in the United States and in more than 80 countries worldwide; Business Development, which comprises Photo Archives, Book Development, Rights & Permissions, licensing and a small publication unit; and New York Times Radio, which includes its New York City classical music radio station, WQXR-FM, and New York Times Radio News, which creates Times-branded content for a variety of audio platforms, including features and podcasts. In March 2008, the Company increased its interest in BehNeem, LLC (BehNeem) to 53%. BehNeem licenses the Epsilen Environment, an online learning environment offering course content, assessment and communication tools.

The Globe, Boston.com, the T&G, and Telegram.com constitute its New England Media Group. The Globe is a daily (Monday through Saturday) and Sunday newspaper. The T&G is a daily (Monday through Saturday) newspaper. The Globe is distributed throughout New England, although its circulation is concentrated in the Boston metropolitan area. In fiscal 2008, approximately 76% of the Globe's weekday circulation and 72% of its Sunday circulation was sold through home-delivery, the remainder was sold primarily on newsstands. All editions of the Globe are printed and prepared for delivery at its main Boston plant or its Billerica, Mass. satellite plant. Virtually all of the Globe's home-delivered circulation was delivered in fiscal 2008, by a third-party service provider. The Globe's Website, Boston.com, reaches audiences in the New England region, the nation and around the world. Boston.com primarily derives its revenue from the sale of advertising. Advertising is sold to both national and local customers and includes online display advertising, classified advertising and contextual advertising.

The Regional Media Group includes 15 daily newspapers, of which 13 publish on Sunday, one paid weekly newspaper, related print and digital businesses, free weekly newspapers, and the North Bay Business Journal, a weekly publication targeting business leaders in California's Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties. In March 2008, the Company acquired certain assets of the Winter Haven News Chief, a regional newspaper in Winter Haven, Fla.

About Group

The About Group includes the Web sites of About.com, ConsumerSearch.com, UCompareHealthCare.com and Caloriecount.com. About.com is one of the Web's producers of online content, providing users with information and advice on thousands of topics. About.com has 39 million average monthly visitors in the United States (per Nielsen Online) and 63 million average monthly visitors worldwide (per About.com's internal metrics). Over 770 topical advisors or Guides write about more than 70,000 topics and have generated nearly 2 million pieces of original content. ConsumerSearch.com is a site that analyzes expert and user-generated consumer product reviews and recommends the products to purchase based on the findings. UCompareHealthCare.com is a site that provides Web-based interactive tools that enable users to measure the quality of certain healthcare services. Caloriecount.about.com is a site that offers weight management tools, social support and nutritional information. The About Group generates revenues through cost-per-click advertising (sponsored links, for which the About Group is paid when a user clicks on the ad), display advertising that is relevant to its adjacent content and e-commerce (including sales lead generation).

The New York Times Company has a 49% equity interest in a Canadian newsprint company, Donohue Malbaie Inc. (Malbaie). The other 51% is owned by AbitibiBowater Inc. (AbitibiBowater), a global manufacturer of paper, market pulp and wood products. Malbaie manufactures newsprint on the paper machine it owns within AbitibiBowater's paper mill in Clermont, Quebec. Malbaie is wholly dependent upon AbitibiBowater for its pulp, which is purchased by Malbaie from AbitibiBowater’s paper mill in Clermont, Quebec. In fiscal 2008, Malbaie produced 217,000 metric tons of newsprint, of which approximately 37% was sold to the Company, with the balance sold to AbitibiBowater for resale. It has a 40% equity interest in a partnership operating a supercalendered paper mill in Madison, Maine, Madison Paper Industries (Madison). Madison purchases the majority of its wood from local suppliers, mostly under long-term contracts. In fiscal 2008, Madison produced 193,000 metric tons, of which approximately 7% was sold to The New York Times Company.

The Company competes with Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Financial Times, Time, Newsweek International, The Economist, CNN, CNNi, Sky News, BBC, The Boston Herald, Yahoo!, AOL, MSN, WebMD, CNET, Wikipedia, iVillage, IMDb.com, Tribune Media Services, All Media Guide and Muze.