Dow Jones nearing 3 million subscribers

News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson made the following comments about Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal during its earnings conference call:

At Dow Jones, circulation revenue growth remained robust with a 10% increase year-over-year. We are nearing the short-term goal of 3 million total subscribers, with 2.8 million subscribers to Dow Jones consumer products in the quarter.

The Wall Street Journal experienced an approximate 12% increase in circulation revenues year-over-year. Meanwhile, our Professional Information business is muscular, powered by risk and compliance, which grew over 40% this quarter. Companies simply must invest in reducing risk and enhancing compliance, and Dow Jones has the necessary tools in both of these imperative areas.

CFO Susan Panuccio made the following comments:

At Dow Jones, circulation revenues grew 10%, the third consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, benefiting from 29 percentage points growth in WSJ digital-only subscribers and higher subscription ARPU.

Digital now accounts for over 50% of Dow Jones circulation revenue….

The closure of The Wall Street Journal international print edition impacted Dow Jones advertising revenues by $6 million or four percentage points for the quarter. International expansion continues to be a strategic focus for Dow Jones. And despite the print closure, our total Wall Street Journal international subscriber base still grew 28% versus the prior year.

Read more here.