NY Times' new CEO faces uphill battle saving the Grey Lady
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The tasks that now confront Mark Thompson, the newly appointed chief executive of The New York Times Company, are essentially the same ones he faced at the BBC: usher a storied, but staid brand into an increasingly digital and global world while navigating a delicate balance between often competing political power centers.
The only difference is that now he must do it in a commercial enterprise where building advertising and content sales is paramount, rather than a government-protected one where the vast majority of revenue comes from viewers paying license fees. The BBC's commercial revenue was, for example, only $348.44 million according to its annual report for 2011/12 published in July, against $5.66 trillion from licensing fees.
"This is the first time that Mark Thompson has been seriously exposed to full-on commercial pressure," said Steve Hewlett, a media consultant and BBC broadcaster. "Doing digital development at the BBC when you don't have to make a return is one thing; doing it when you've got shareholders breathing down your neck and a deteriorating business is another."
That's not to say that Thompson isn't up for the task. Sources say the Oxford-educated executive isn't scared of making tough decisions, from cost-cutting measures like canceling beloved shows and instituting layoffs to joining the fight to stop Rupert Murdoch's News Corp from taking control of satellite broadcaster BSKyB.
Thompson, 55, spent his entire career at the BBC, rising from a trainee in 1979 to stints on shows such as 'Newsnight' and the 'Nine O'Clock News' by age 30 before eventually becoming Director General, which is regarded as the U.K. television industry's most powerful post.
He joins the New York Times Company during a period of unprecedented change at the media group and in the wider U.S. newspaper industry, which has seen big declines in print circulation and advertising, and little sign that online revenue can make up much of the difference.