Content Sites Bracing For 50% Revenue Slowdown
December 30, 2008 · Filed Under Business Bytes, advertising, blog
TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington says he thinks display advertising revenue is going to fall of a cliff in January according to a number of content sites he’s spoken with who rely on advertising for revenue.
“Sales through December were mostly strong as advertisers used up their marketing budgets,” said one sales exec. But, he added, “there are few buyers for this next fiscal quarter, and those few that are buying are looking for steep discounts.”Just how bad will it be? I’ve heard estimates of 30%-80% revenue drops over the next three months from companies that serve a variety of content games sites, tech news, celebrity news, political news, etc.. The median pessimism point is around 50%. The people I’ve spoken with work at large public companies and small one-person blog shops. Absolutely no one I spoke with said they expect an up quarter.
Some of the companies that survive the next few months will be leaner and stronger when this ends. That’s the upside. But everyone is cutting the fat, and your boss just may think you’re expendable.
