Third-quarter ad revenue for Web publishers grew an average of 46 percent over the year-ago period, according to a recent poll conducted by the Online Publishers Association.

The poll, which surveyed 26 OPA member companies including CBS MarketWatch, CondeNet and The Wall Street Journal Online, found that year-to-date ad revenue among the group was up 38 percent over the same time last year.

Total revenue for the group increased an average of 44 percent in Q3 versus the year-earlier period, while total revenue for the first three quarters of 2003 rose 35 percent.

Recently, two OPA member companies posted Q3 revenue numbers. The New York Times Digital, which includes NYTimes.com and Boston.com, reported that third-quarter revenue grew nearly 20 percent to $21.8 million from the same time a year ago. Meanwhile, Knight Ridder Digital, which develops and manages newspaper Web sites including the Akron Beacon Journal's Ohio.com and the Lexington Herald-Leader's Kentucky.com, recorded Q3 revenue of $21.5 million, up 51 percent from the year-earlier period