Hollywood cuts back

NYT Co. had a terrible December - and a terrible 2008, for that matter - and entertainment advertising was especially weak. CEO Janet Robinson explains that the studios released fewer films than the year before and spent less on advertising. (Telco and books also did poorly, while the better performers came from energy, advocacy groups and financial services, as banks ran ads that tried to reassure their customers.) Times Co. is seeing a bit of an uptick in entertainment ads this month, thanks to the Oscar races. In the overall national advertising category, the company reported 2008 revenues of $857.6 million, down from $945.5 million a year earlier. That's staggering. Here's the transcript of the analyst call. Hat tip to Peter Kafka at All Things Digital.