New York Times Stock Plunges, Digital Subscriptions Rise, Revenue Drops In Third Quarter

The New York Times' stock experienced its biggest single day drop since 1980, Bloomgberg's Edmund Lee reported on Thursday.

The 21 percent drop occurred after the New York Times Company's announcement that advertising revenue dropped 8.9 percent and total revenue dropped 0.6 percent in the third quarter.

While revenue declined, the Times posted an 11 percent increase in digital subscriptions. The New York Times Company now hosts a total of 592,000 digital subscribers, with 566,000 subscribing just to nytimes.com. Circulation revenue also rose 7.4 percent.

In a statement, Times Company chairman and chief executive Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said, "While our results for the third quarter reflect continued pressure on advertising revenues, total circulation revenues rose, led by the ongoing expansion of our digital subscription base."

The stock drop and disappointing ad revenue report is just the latest in a string of tough news to hit the New York Times. The newspaper was dragged into a devastating sex abuse scandal currently rocking the BBC after it became known that the British broadcaster did not run a documentary exposing famed television host Jimmy Savile as a child sex abuser.

Instead, the BBC aired tributes to the "Top of the Pops" host. The Times' incoming CEO, Mark Thompson, was the BBC's director general at the time this decision was made.