The yellow pages industry was rocked in 2009 by economic woes resulting in two major publishers—Idearc Media and R.H. Donnelley—filing for bankruptcy protection and one international yellow pages publisher—Yell Group (London), the publisher of Yellowbook in the U.S.—announcing that it had begun a process to refinance its debt in the hope it could extend the maturity dates and change terms.

The Yellow Pages Bankruptcies 2010: One Year Later is a follow-up, in-depth look at the publishers most affected by the financial crisis in 2009, chronicling their progress to date and projections for their future stability. The three companies have made many advances since then with one publisher even evolving into an entire new media company.

While many considered the bankruptcies a sign of a collapsing yellow pages print industry brought on by the Internet, others looked to the companies themselves for their difficulties.

The Yellow Pages Bankruptcies 2010: One Year Later takes an in-depth look at the actions behind the scenes that led to bankruptcy court, chronicles their progress to date and projects where the companies and the entire industry—both independent and incumbent—are likely to find themselves in the future.

Highlights of The Yellow Pages Bankruptcies 2010 include:

• The cases behind the financial collapse of Idearc and R.H. Donnelley;
• The likely fate of the remaining mega publishers: AT&T, Local Insight and Yellow Pages Group;
• The impact on CMRs (certified marketing representatives) and suppliers;
• Delivering yellow pages information through print vs online or mobile;
• The keen competition to print the yellow pages heightens with Quebecor World , once in bankruptcy and now an entirely new printing operation, and R.R. Donnelley vying for their business;
• A look at the industry’s competition—both print and electronic;
• A segment by segment breakdown of the industry.

In summer 2009, Simba Information published The RBOC Bankruptcies 2009: The Impact on the Future of the Yellow Pages Industry to dissect what was happening to the publishers mentioned above and the overall industry during the financial crisis. Simba then hosted a webinar with yellow pages senior analyst David Goddard presenting findings from the report. David was joined by directory publishing executives Frank Jules (president & CEO, AT&T Advertising Solutions) and Scott Pomeroy (president & CEO, Local Insight Media), who addressed the state of the yellow pages industry as they see it from their roles at the head of two of the top five U.S. directory publishers.

In case you missed out, you can order Simba's RBOC Bankruptcies 2009 webinar recording to hear firsthand from these industry insiders.

Additional Information

Yellow Pages Industry Recovers from Bankruptcies, But Still Faces Challenges

Stamford, CT - Oct. 19, 2010 - The yellow pages world was reeling under negative news a year ago as two RBOC publishers-Idearc Media and R.H. Donnelley-wound their way through bankruptcy court, along with independent publisher Ambassador Media and printer Quebecor World. Media industry forecast and analysis firm Simba Information takes a look at how the recovery occurred in just one year, as well as the industry's future in its recently released report The Yellow Pages Bankruptcies 2010: One Year Later.

With the bankruptcies primarily in the past and stronger companies emerging with new names, less debt and a new focus, the yellow pages industry now faces a brighter future. However, the report finds there are still many challenges. Among them is the transformation of sales reps into media consultants who can not only offer print ads in the yellow pages, but also online content to bring buyers and sellers together.

"Despite some heavy blows from what many consider to be the toughest economic conditions since the Great Depression and the collapse of some of the industry's giants, the yellow pages world continues," said David Goddard, senior analyst of Simba's Yellow Pages Group and lead author of the study. "Now the industry keeps a wary watch on search engines, particularly Google, and looks to technology for a renewed direction as it focuses on its main strength: information that can bring advertisers strong leads."

The Yellow Pages Bankruptcies 2010: One Year Later looks at the actions behind the scenes that led to bankruptcy court and projects where the companies and the entire industry-both independent and incumbent-are likely to find themselves in the future. It includes industry revenues, forecasts, usage figures and profiles of eight yellow pages publishers.