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‘New York Times’ Sells Front Page Ads

The New York Times has begun selling color ads on its front page. The first, which appeared today (Monday), was a two-and-a-half inch high ad for CBS running across the bottom of the front page.

Ads on the front page will be placed below the fold, according to the Times. In the last couple of years, the paper began selling ads on the front pages of its sections. It has also, in the past, sold an occasional front-page classified ad.

A Times spokesperson would not say what the ads cost or how much the paper hopes to bring in per year with the front page ads. The Wall Street Journal and USA Today both run ads on their front pages, Reuters points out.

Faced with shrinking revenues, The New York Times has been experimenting with a variety of new ad placements and formats in the last few years. Most recently, it ran its first cover wrap around The New York Times Magazine.

Times revenue fell 13.9% in November from the same month in 2007. For the year through November, it was down 7.6%. Ad revenue for the Times Media Group, which includes The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune, was down 21.2% in November.

In early December the company made plans to mortgage its Manhattan headquarters. It also plans to try selling its 17.5% stake in a holding firm that owns the Boston Red Sox, bringing in a potential $200 million.