FT.com paid circulation up 50 percent

Amy Wicks of Women’s Wear Daily reports that the subscriptions to the Financial Times website have risen 50 percent in the past year.

Wicks writes, “A combined subscription for print and online is $33.96 a month, and a premium subscription to online only is nearly $30 a month. Overall, FT.com’s paid circulation is up more than 50 percent, to 207,000, a third of total global paid circulation. Chief executive officer John Ridding said advertisers are paying the same rates now for print and online.

“For 2010, the FT’s ad revenues rose more than 10 percent, thanks, in part, to the return of the luxury category, and FT.com saw double-digit ad revenue growth, helped by the rise of new mobile platforms. ‘This [the U.S.] is our biggest market now,’ said Ridding, noting that circulation in the U.S. is 120,000. How to Spend It, the FT’s weekend glossy (which launched in 1994), posted a 40 percent increase in advertising, and the March 19 fashion issue will be the biggest ever published in the U.S.

“When it came to talking competition, Ridding wholeheartedly believes that when The New York Times implements its metered system, it will be successful. But don’t hold your breath for an iPad-only version of the FT. ‘We’re always in favor of innovation and experimenting, but I don’t see the need to invest in a new publication. Our current brand is doing just fine.'”

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