Matthew Flamm of Crain’s New York Business writes Sunday about how Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal and Marketwatch.com, is looking to boost its Factiva search service.
Flamm writes, “This month, Factiva is rolling out services and products, including an iPad application, designed to attract new corporate customers. The investment comes as the division is poised for a turnaround after two years of declining revenues.
“Like other paid-search companies, including archrival LexisNexis, Factiva has been hurt by Google and the recession. Revenues were $295 million last year, compared with a peak of $320 million in 2008, according to consulting firm Outsell Inc.
“Dow Jones, which started Factiva as a 50-50 joint venture with Reuters in 1999, bought out its partner in 2006.
“The enhancements include the addition of 100 Arabic news sources, following the recent addition of 1,800 sources in 16 languages. International markets have become the biggest source of growth for Factiva and now account for more than half of its revenues.”
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