San Marcos Daily Record

What San Marcos Daily Record does

San Marcos Daily Record is a local newspaper serving San Marcos, Hays County, and surrounding Central Texas communities, with continuous publication since 1912. It transitioned from a daily to a twice-weekly print schedule (Wednesdays and Sundays), focusing on local government coverage, Texas State University Bobcats and Rattler sports, local business news, features, opinion, obituaries, and public/legal notices. The paper operates from its headquarters at 1910 IH-35 South, San Marcos, and is a member property of Times Media Group, a diversified media conglomerate that provides shared advertising, production, and circulation services.

The core product is the printed newspaper, supplemented by an online digital edition (delivered via the Pagesuite Professional platform), a home-delivery subscription, an online classifieds marketplace (real estate, vehicles, jobs, pets, services), local weather coverage, obituary placement through Legacy.com, and legal-notice placement through Column.us. All web and content operations run on the BLOX Content Management System from BLOX Digital, the same technology backbone used by other Times Media Group titles, which provides standardized publishing infrastructure and shared advertising inventory. Content is distributed across Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram, and the newsroom syndicates Texas Tribune statewide reporting to broaden its editorial value proposition.

Revenue is generated through three primary streams: recurring home-delivery and digital subscriptions, print and digital display/classified advertising sold to local businesses (via three named advertising consultants), and transaction-fee-based legal notices and obituaries required by local regulations. The publication serves local San Marcos and Hays County residents and small-to-medium businesses, with a distribution footprint of more than 40 retail pickup points (including 7-Eleven, HEB, Walgreens, CVS, and Dollar General locations) and a dedicated home-delivery route. No AI/ML capabilities, APIs, or external technology integrations are disclosed.

Name

San Marcos Daily Record

Legal name

San Marcos Daily Record

Website

https://sanmarcosrecord.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1912

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

San Marcos Daily Record is a 1912-founded, twice-weekly community newspaper owned by Times Media Group, serving San Marcos and Hays County, Texas with local news, sports, classifieds, obituaries, and legal notices across print and digital channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Community journalism
• Newspaper advertising
• Classified advertising
• Legal notice publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

San Marcos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: Home delivery and digital subscriptions providing recurring revenue from local readers seeking local news coverage
2. Print and Digital Advertising: Advertising space sold to local businesses, including display ads, classifieds, obituaries, and legal notices
3. Classified Advertising: Revenue from classified ads including real estate, vehicles, jobs, items for sale, pets, auctions, services, and community listings
4. Legal and Obituary Notices: Paid placement of legal notices and obituaries as required by local regulations

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

San Marcos Daily Record is a local newspaper serving San Marcos, Hays County, and surrounding Central Texas communities. It publishes a twice-weekly print edition (Wednesdays and Sundays) covering local news, sports, business, features, opinion, and obituaries, supplemented by a digital edition, classifieds, legal notices, and home delivery subscriptions.

Product overview

San Marcos Daily Record operates as a traditional local newspaper serving San Marcos and Hays County, Texas. The publication offers a core newspaper product supplemented by digital services including an online Digital Edition, classified advertising marketplace, home delivery subscriptions, local weather information, and obituaries/legals services. The product portfolio functions as a unified local media platform built on the BLOX Content Management System, providing both print and digital content distribution to the community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• San Marcos Daily Record (Print Newspaper)
• Digital Edition
• Classifieds
• Home Delivery Subscription Print newspaper home delivery subscription service available for San Marcos and surrounding areas.
• Legals/Public Notices Legal advertising and public notice placement service for the San Marcos area.
• Obituaries Obituary listings and obituary placement service for deceased community members.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Times Media GroupcoreOthersParent company that owns and operates the San Marcos Daily Record. Times Media Group is committed to preservation and advancement of local journalism, delivering trusted community-focused news to millions of engaged readers across regions they serve.
• BLOX Digital (BLOX CMS)coreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology platform provider powering the newspaper's website and content management system. BLOX Content Management System from BLOX Digital provides the digital infrastructure for the publication's online presence.
• Texas TribuneminorOthersContent partnership where Texas Tribune articles are syndicated/republished on the San Marcos Daily Record website, providing additional statewide journalism to local readers.
• Hill Country AllianceminorOthersNonprofit organization focused on preserving the Hill Country's open spaces, water resources, and unique character; partnered on County-to-County Coalition workshop covering regional issues including groundwater and data center development.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Gannett Co. The largest U.S. local newspaper chain (USA TODAY Network), operating hundreds of community papers including the Austin American-Statesman; comparable as a portfolio operator of small-market community newspapers sharing similar revenue models (subscription, display ads, legal notices).
• Austin American-Statesman: The dominant regional daily in the greater Austin metro, owned by Gannett; comparable as a Texas daily newspaper competing for overlapping advertisers and readers along the I-35 corridor, though at significantly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Lee Enterprises: A large publicly-traded newspaper group with a portfolio of small-market community dailies across the U.S.; comparable on business model (subscription + advertising, including legal notices), operational scale challenges, and recent industry dynamics such as frequency reductions.

Direct peers

• Hays Free Press: Hays Free Press is another community newspaper serving Hays County, Texas — the same primary market as San Marcos Daily Record — making it the most direct head-to-head peer for local news, classifieds, and advertising share in the region.
• Seguin Gazette: A Guadalupe County community newspaper adjacent to San Marcos, operated by the same regional publishing ecosystem; highly comparable on community-coverage mission, weekly-to-twice-weekly format, and subscription + advertising revenue model.
• Lockhart Post-Register: Another small-town Central Texas newspaper in the I-35 corridor between San Antonio and Austin; comparable on readership demographics, twice-weekly print cadence, and reliance on legal notices, obituaries, and local SMB advertising.
• New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung: A nearby Central Texas community daily serving New Braunfels and Comal County under Texas/Newspaper Network ownership; directly comparable in format, target audience (suburban Texas community), and revenue mix of print/digital subscriptions plus local display advertising.

Emerging players

• The Texas Tribune: A nonprofit digital newsroom covering Texas politics and policy that already republishes content with San Marcos Daily Record; comparable as a Texas-focused journalism operation, but a non-profit emerging player in digital news rather than a paid-print commercial newspaper.
• Community Impact Newspaper (Austin metro editions): A digital-first hyperlocal publisher covering San Marcos and surrounding Hays County with biweekly print mailers; directly competes for the same local advertiser dollars (real estate, SMBs) with a free-distribution model that pressures paid print subscriptions.

Regional players

• Colorado Community Media: A network of community newspapers and digital outlets in Colorado, partnered with San Marcos Daily Record for Instagram distribution; comparable in operating model (portfolio of small local titles, multi-revenue stream) but serving a different geographic market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sanmarcosrecord
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@sanmarcosrecord8776
• Facebookfacebook.com/sanmarcosrecord
• Instagraminstagram.com/sanmarcosrecord
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/san-marcos-daily-record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about San Marcos Daily Record