Can membership offer third way to reader revenue? | Hope and De Piero interview
And there are reasons for optimism behind the colossal pre-tax loss reported by DC Thomson
Expect to hear a lot more about membership schemes and subscriptions this year as publishers battle to make up for the ad revenue lost to Google, Meta and other tech platforms.
We’ve spoken to the joint editor-in-chief of Hearst magazine titles Men’s Health and Women’s Health Claire Sanderson to find out why they are jogging forth into the world of membership.
As with fellow Hearst title Elle UK, the fitness brands are hoping to charge a premium above what they can command for just print and web access. The price point, at £89.99, is the same as that offered by fitness guru Joe Wicks for access to his Body Coach app.
Hearst, and others, are hoping that even in an economic downturn consumers will still invest in their passions, hobbies, professional interests and health.
Men’s Health and Women’s Health, as with many other magazines, have seen print circulation plunge post-pandemic and digital subscriptions are not making up for the shortfall. Hearst is hoping that membership will offer a third route to reader revenue.
It is part of a reader revenue trend that has seen newspaper cover prices and paywall subscription fees both rocket in the last year, according to Press Gazette research.
This week we also caught up with the newest presenting duo at another publisher that has recently embraced paid membership, GB News.
Political editor for the channel Christopher Hope and former MP Gloria De Piero are presenting weekly show PMQs Live. They spoke about why they think GB News produces political coverage tailored for the viewers, whereas other broadcasters think too much about other journalists.
And finally, we have the latest financial figures from DC Thomson, the Scottish regional press and specialist publisher. The headline pre-tax loss looks like a car crash, but is mainly due to a fall in the value of investments (rather than the day-to-day performance of the business).
Revenue is flat year on year for the period to March 2023 and there are some encouraging signs of growth in its digital subscriptions business.
New from Press Gazette
Christopher Hope and Gloria De Piero say GB News offers political news for the people (not other journalists)
“So much political news is about other journalists, it’s done for the spads [political special advisers] – it’s not done for people out there who experience the news.”
Joint editor of Women’s and Men’s Health UK explains new membership focus for brands
E-commerce and product licensing - like mattresses - are other ways the brands are diversifying revenue.
DC Thomson revenue flat year on year but investments decline fuels £162m loss
But chairman touts "biggest growth in our regional news business for decades".
Our latest podcast
Podcast 63: Political reporting in an election year with Chris Hope and Gloria De Piero
In the latest episode, Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford met GB News presenting duo Gloria De Piero and Christopher Hope. They spoke about their new weekly show, PMQs Live, the future of political reporting in an election year and why they think GB News is striking a chord with viewers by offering them more of what they want.
Must-reads this week from Press Gazette you might have missed
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OpenAI says ‘high-value partnership’ was on cards with New York Times before lawsuit
News media trends for 2024: AI, Whatsapp, newsletters and video among focus areas
Attention to Post Office Horizon IT scandal follows 14 years of dogged journalism
Newsflation: UK national newspaper cover prices up 13% in past year