Washington Post 2012 Annual Report Download - page 33

Advertising revenue is derived from the sale of display and classified advertisements, as well as the insertion and other
distribution of preprinted advertisements.
The following table shows the average paid daily (including Saturday) and Sunday circulation of the Post for the 53-week
period ended October 3, 2010, and the 52-week period ended October 2, 2011, as reported by the Audit Bureau of
Circulations (ABC) and as estimated by the Post for the 52-week period ended September 30, 2012, for which period
ABC has not completed its audit as of the date of this report, from the semiannual publisher’s statements submitted to ABC
for the 26-week period ended April 1, 2012, and the 26-week period ended September 30, 2012:
Average Paid
Circulation
Daily Sunday
2010 ................................................... 556,676 780,849
2011 ................................................... 523,746 738,962
2012 ................................................... 480,166 697,026
The Post’s primary circulation territory accounts for more than 90% of its daily and Sunday circulation and consists of
Washington, DC, and communities generally within a 50-mile radius from the city, but excluding Baltimore City and its
northern and eastern suburbs. The current newsstand price in this area is $1.25 for the daily newspaper after a $0.25
increase effective January 14, 2013, and $2.50 for the Sunday newspaper after a $0.50 increase effective January 13,
2013. The rate charged for each four-week period for home-delivered copies of the daily and Sunday newspaper was
raised to $27.80 effective January 14, 2013, from $25.40, which was effective on January 16, 2012. The rate
charged for Sunday-only home delivery has been $7.40 for each four-week period since January 18, 2010. Outside the
primary circulation area, the current newsstand price is $1.50 for the daily newspaper after two $0.25 increases
effective June 2, 2012, and January 14, 2013, and $2.50 for the Sunday newspaper. Rates for home-delivered copies
of the daily and Sunday newspaper outside the primary circulation area for each four-week period are $46.00 (after two
$0.25 increases effective June 2, 2012, and January 14, 2013), and $10.00 for the Sunday newspaper only.
The newspaper’s Internet site, washingtonpost.com, currently features much of the full editorial text of the Post and most of
the classified advertising, as well as original text and video content, blogs written by Post reporters and others, interactive
discussions hosted by Post reporters and outside subject experts, user-generated comments and content obtained from
other sources. The Internet site also features extensive information about activities, groups and businesses in the
Washington, DC, area, including arts and entertainment and news focusing on politics and on technology businesses
and related policy issues.
As measured by WP Company, this site averaged more than 322.7 million page views per month and had an average
of 41.3 million unique visitors per month during 2012. This site has developed a substantial audience of visitors who are
outside the Washington, DC, area, and WP Company believes, based on analytical data, that approximately 84% of
the unique visitors who access the site each month are in that category.
Internet Site Traffic
(in millions) Monthly Avg Page Views Monthly Avg Unique Visitors
2010 ............................................. 266.9 28.2
2011 ............................................. 273.4 35.7
2012 ............................................. 322.7 41.3
WP Company provides online advertisers with a wide range of options, including the ability to advertise on select pages
or page combinations or to target specific geographic areas and demographic groups. WP Company also provides
content on websites specially formatted to be downloaded and displayed on Web-enabled cell phones and other
personal digital devices. In addition to offering regular upgrades of general news smart phone applications, WP
Company also offers niche smart phone applications focused on sports, entertainment and politics.
Other WP Company ventures include Capital Business, a weekly local business news publication that is sold for $49 per
year to Post subscribers and $69 per year to non-Post subscribers; Washington Post Live, a conference and events
business that produces live journalism events and derives revenue from sponsorships, display advertisements and ticket
sales; The Capitol Deal, an Internet site that provides time-limited reduced-price offers for restaurants, travel destinations,
services and entertainment events and shares revenue generated by the offers; and Service Alley, a website that offers a
directory of home service providers for consumers, including ratings and reviews, and that generates revenue through
listing and couponing fees paid by the service providers. Service Alley is franchised in two other national markets, and
WP Company is remunerated for providing intellectual property, technology and financial services. The Post began
2012 FORM 10-K 21