Newspaper advertising spending in North America 2000-2024

In 2021, newspaper advertising spending in North America amounted to 8.3 billion U.S. dollars. The medium will face a continued decline in ad investments over the next few years, and according to the latest data, spending will have fallen to six billion U.S. dollars by 2024.

Newspaper readership

The newspaper industry in North America has faced many challenges over the past few decades. The advent of social media and other online platforms has arguably caused the most significant disruption to the industry, as audiences continue to replace print publications with digital sources. In the United States, print newspaper consumption has dropped to an average of nine minutes per day, and according to a recent survey, newspapers were voted one of the least popular platforms for daily news consumption among young generations in early 2021.

Has newspaper advertising lost its appeal?

Newspaper advertising is one of the oldest forms of advertising. While print editions have long been an effective tool for reaching potential customers, the digital revolution is visibly shifting advertisers’ attention and investments away from this and other traditional ad formats. In the United States, circulation numbers for daily weekday newspapers have been falling for decades, making them less attractive platforms for ad placement. And even though most publications have already jumped on the digital train, online newspapers now generally rely on paid subscription models for revenue instead of advertising investments.