FT says it's winning market share

The CEO of the Financial Times told Reuters Friday that the business newspaper is winning market share in terms of advertising and readership due to the economic crisis.

Georgina Prodhan of Reuters writes, “The publication, part of Pearson, is expanding its FT.com offering through video and new mobile outlets and plans an online version of its luxury-goods magazine, ‘How To Spend It’, but will likely do so without increasing its staff this year, John Ridding said.

“‘This story, it’s our story. I’ve been here 22 years and all that time we’ve been building up our global operation,’ he told Reuters in an interview. ‘What’s going on out there is absolutely in our zone.’

“Ridding said the FT was winning market share in advertising and readership, and online subscription revenue rose about 20 percent in February, but editorial staff numbers — which have been increasing — were unlikely to rise again this year.

“‘We’ve got to be pretty careful this year, as everyone has to be, because it’s tough and there’s not much visibility, so I wouldn’t expect them to,’ he said.”

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