Tampa Tribune gives up on competing in St. Petersburg

[FileNotFound]

Long overdue, probably, but Media General's money vacuum finally announces the end of daily home delivery on the Pinellas County side of the bay.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article1000883.ece

 

[Mike Harris not that one]

Eh, no biggie and no shocker. There was only 11,000 in Pinellas anyway. What the article fails to mention is the fact the Times has only about 11,000 in Hillsborough County. And the numbers are steeped for the Times in the fact they circulate in Pasco and Hernando Counties to the north.

 

[Bamadog]

Eh, no biggie and no shocker. There was only 11,000 in Pinellas anyway. What the article fails to mention is the fact the Times has only about 11,000 in Hillsborough County. And the numbers are steeped for the Times in the fact they circulate in Pasco and Hernando Counties to the north.

They also circulate in Highlands County (Sebring) as well.

 

[reformedhack]

They also circulate in Highlands County (Sebring) as well.

Um, no. There isn't a Times rack within 75 miles of Sebring.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

If the Trib is still publishing in December I'll be stunned. The Times will either buy it and fold it or it will fold on its own.

 

[playthrough]

Eh, no biggie and no shocker. There was only 11,000 in Pinellas anyway. What the article fails to mention is the fact the Times has only about 11,000 in Hillsborough County. And the numbers are steeped for the Times in the fact they circulate in Pasco and Hernando Counties to the north.

The Times still hasn't made a deeper cut into Hillsborough?

 

[reformedhack]

The Times will either buy it and fold it or it will fold on its own.

The former ain't going to happen. The latter? Well, I don't think I'd take the "over" on that bet.

 

[reformedhack]

The Times still hasn't made a deeper cut into Hillsborough?

As of January, the Times claimed Hillsborough County circulation of 37,528 daily, 42,561 on Sunday. In the latest ABC report, the Times showed growth in Hillsborough and central Pasco counties -- the heart of the Tribune's circulation area.

UPDATE: A story posted tonight cites specifics of the latest ABC audit. The Times' Hillsborough circulation is 41,135 daily and 65,099 on Sunday.

 

[FileNotFound]

Eh, no biggie and no shocker. There was only 11,000 in Pinellas anyway. What the article fails to mention is the fact the Times has only about 11,000 in Hillsborough County. And the numbers are steeped for the Times in the fact they circulate in Pasco and Hernando Counties to the north.

The Times still hasn't made a deeper cut into Hillsborough?

I can only speak for my neighborhood in far east Hillsborough, but there are at least as many copies of the Times in driveways on my morning walk as there are Tribunes, and the one-paper driveways are almost exclusively the Times. I think the Times does better in Hillsborough than most people think.

 

[BTExpress]

The St. Petersburg Times may be my only hope to stay in the newspaper industry. Wish I was kidding.

http://www.sptimes.ru/

 

[playthrough]

Eh, no biggie and no shocker. There was only 11,000 in Pinellas anyway. What the article fails to mention is the fact the Times has only about 11,000 in Hillsborough County. And the numbers are steeped for the Times in the fact they circulate in Pasco and Hernando Counties to the north.

The Times still hasn't made a deeper cut into Hillsborough?

I can only speak for my neighborhood in far east Hillsborough, but there are at least as many copies of the Times in driveways on my morning walk as there are Tribunes, and the one-paper driveways are almost exclusively the Times. I think the Times does better in Hillsborough than most people think.

I thought that was the case. Tampa was a tough market for the Times to crack when the Trib was humming, but it's not a fair fight anymore.

 

[reformedhack]

One other factoid, from an updated story on the Trib's website (tbo.com):

In Pinellas County, the Tribune has only 5,511 home delivery subscribers Mon-Sat, 6,321 on Sunday. Single copy sales are 2,124 Mon-Sat, 8,019 on Sunday.

Doing the math, that's 7,635 daily and 14,340 on Sunday.

 

[mediaguy]

Yeah, but if I'm a business in Pinellas County that advertised in the Tribune, this might change things.

 

[DirtyDeeds]

No idea how many there are that advertise in both. Pinellas businesses likely go with the Times anyway. I could be wrong. I imagine the Times subscription/ad sales folks are already trying to use it to their advantage, though.

 

[reformedhack]

Yeah, but if I'm a business in Pinellas County that advertised in the Tribune, this might change things.

Not really. The only Pinellas businesses advertising in the Tribune -- and there are, on most days, quite literally none -- are those of regional interest that want to reach Hillsborough/east Pasco readers, and there's no reason to believe that will change. This move won't affect ad sales in any appreciable way.

It does, however, further solidify in the minds of the public that the Tampa Tribune is not a newspaper for the entire metropolitan area, and that the St. Petersburg Times is.

On an interesting side note, the local TV station (WFLA-Ch. 8 ) owned by Media General -- the one that strongly and frequently boasts on its newscasts about its "news coverage partnership" with the Tribune -- aired a report tonight about the move and more or less seemed to distance itself from the newspaper, apparently realizing that it sure looks like its "coverage partner" has abandoned half of the market.

Only at the end of the report did the anchor quickly say, as an aside, that the two organizations are owned by the same company and that they "share news-gathering resources."

 

[DirtyDeeds]

Yeah, but if I'm a business in Pinellas County that advertised in the Tribune, this might change things.

It does, however, further solidify in the minds of the public that the Tampa Tribune is not a newspaper for the entire metropolitan area, and that the St. Petersburg Times is.

That's what I was getting at. Whether that's true or not, the perception will be there.

 

[mediaguy]

If those Pinellas subscribers want a Tribune at the racks, it'll cost them more, too.

http://blogs.tampabay.com/media/2009/05/tampa-tribune-price-rises-to-75-cents-daily-1-sundays.html

 

[Bamadog]

They also circulate in Highlands County (Sebring) as well.

Um, no. There isn't a Times rack within 75 miles of Sebring.

Highlands Today was packaged with the Trib in HT racks, so that's TECHNICALLY true.

 

[reformedhack]

They also circulate in Highlands County (Sebring) as well.

Um, no. There isn't a Times rack within 75 miles of Sebring.

Highlands Today was packaged with the Trib in HT racks, so that's TECHNICALLY true.

The way you phrased your original post led me to believe you were referring to the Times being in Sebring.

Yes, the Tribune is still distributed in Highlands County, as well as Polk, Hardee and DeSoto, but there's no home delivery in most of that area ... if at all nowadays. If more than 5,000 copies of the Tribune are sold daily in the entire Heartland region, I'd be very surprised.

 

[bdangelo]

From Mizzougrad96 on Feb. 29: "From what I hear, Tampa won't make it to June 1."

And now this from Mizzougrad96 on May 14: "If the Trib is still publishing in December I'll be stunned. The Times will either buy it and fold it or it will fold on its own."

I feel better now that we may have gotten up to a six-month life expectancy prognosis.

LOL.

Not saying the folding won't happen someday. My sources aren't that good (smile). Just amused by the observations.