by Tatiana Repkova

A CEO survey conducted in the US by Folio and Readex Research reveals that even though publishers are launching new initiatives in both print and online, print has remained the dominant revenue stream for the past two years, accounting for 50 per cent of total revenue in 2005 and 49 per cent in 2006. However, as print revenues decline, the survey points to the need for publishers to focus their attention online where advertisers, consumers and business professionals are increasingly turning their attention. And while the survey showed that online revenue growth is beginning to eclipse the loss in print dollars for publishers, it also showed that much of the revenue returns for online publishing continue to be theoretic. In 2006, for example, web advertising accounted for just 10 per cent of the total revenue mix, up from 8 per cent in 2005. Folio reporter Marrecca Fiore told Update that it could be some time before things change. “It’s really a case of the publishers learning to monetise the web,” she said, adding: “It’s all still new and publishers have been selling web ad rates dirt cheap. It’s up to them to set new rates and we expect things to eventually improve over the next few years.” http://www.fipp.com/Default.aspx?PageIndex=2002&ItemId=13522; March 7, 2007