Lee Enterprises President & CEO Kevin Mowbray virtually rang in the NASDAQ opening bell this morning. Mowbray said trading on NASDAQ puts Lee Enterprises alongside the world’s most innovative and forward thinking tech leaders.
NASDAQ Managing Director Andrew Hall remarked this morning, “Lee Enterprises listing on NASDAQ is part of the overall move to enhance the company’s visibility as a leading digital news and information provider.”
“NASDAQ is thrilled to be part of the new growth as the company serves its communities, increases the capabilities for advertisers and looks to increase shareholder value,” Hall added.
Lee Enterprises Fact Box
- Founded in Iowa over 130 years ago
- Average daily circulation of 1.2 million readers
- Reaches 55 million digital visitors per month; about 12 million come with great frequency.
- Produces nearly 350 weekly and specialty publications serving 77 markets in 26 states
- Fastest growing digital subscription platform in local media. Digital only subscribers doubled in the last 16 months.
Mowbray appeared on Yahoo Finance and said “the content and news we produce in the midsize markets we serve matters more than ever. From the civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin to the forest fires in Montana and the flooding in the Midwest and certainly the impact of the coronavirus, our audience flocks to our platforms like never before. In fact our audiences are up about 1% to last year.”
The CEO pointed to the 3 pillar strategy tied to revenue growth:
- Produce Best in class digital platform with emphasis on video and multimedia tech and data.
- Grow digital only subscribers from 286,000 today to 900,000.
- Produce new revenue streams tied to 1st party data, ecommerce and video advertising.
