Full marks for Schools Week subs growth | Affiliate marketing booms at Footballco
And Pink News is the latest news brand to feel advertising chill
Good morning and welcome to your weekly Future of Media newsletter from Press Gazette on Thursday, 9 November, brought to you this week in association with EX․CO - the world's leading publisher video platform empowering publishers to own their video strategy for maximum yield. Their latest guide for publishers, "Choosing the Right Online Video Platform", is available now.
For ad-driven consumer news media 2023 is turning out to be quite a bummer.
We’ve taken a closer look at Pink News which has gone from rapid expansion to contraction and at best a break-even position for this year.
The cause of the trouble is the social media platforms who are stealing traffic and ad revenue and sending less readers back to the publisher. Its response has been to invest in its app in the hope of increasing time spent by readers with Pink News itself as opposed to on its social pages.
We also have more details on those Reach job cuts announced yesterday. Entire websites are being culled and further mergers of digital and print operations are planned. Similarly to Pink News, the problems at Reach have been caused by falls in both online advertising revenue and audience.
So what is the solution to all this gloom?
Thriving specialist title Schools Week offers one answer. Editor John Dickens told us investment in journalism has fuelled rising subscriptions for the title.
Giant sport publisher Footballco offers another approach. It explained how it is making up for the shortfall in straight-up advertising revenue with a massive expansion in e-commerce activity (selling readers stuff via affiliate links).
New from Press Gazette
Schools Week, education’s ‘cross between FT and Private Eye’, celebrates subs growth
“I’m not saying that Schools Week secured an extra £4bn for schools, but actually we played a really important role in analysing a promise… getting past the political spin on that, reporting the facts, which were quite embarrassing at the time, and actually it led to a really positive outcome for schools.”
Footballco says it will grow affiliate revenues by 300% in 2023 in drive away from advertising
"We saw an opportunity to take that huge engaged fan base we had already at Goal and our other brands and to sell products and services to them by recommending, reviewing and informing them about what’s available.”
Reliance on social media sees profits fall and jobs cut at Pink News
Pink News made a loss in each of the first six months of 2023 due to “reduced social media distribution”, rising costs and the declining value of the dollar, it told staff.
Reach restructure: 450 jobs to go, websites to close, print and online teams to combine
Each newsroom will become "future audience-led - putting digital audiences of the future at the heart of our operation".
Why Germany’s most profitable news publisher is staying free online (partner content)
“We have a society that is drifting apart so it’s important to give people access to news, even when they’re not willing or able to pay.”
Promoted report
How to choose the best online video platform (OVP)
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What do publishers need to know?
Whether you’re new to video monetisation or looking to upgrade your current platform, this guide is your go-to resource.
It includes:
The OVP value proposition
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Details about the 3 different types of OVPs
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Must-reads this week from Press Gazette you might have missed
The News Movement ‘on target to hit profit’ amid cuts and exit of CEO William Lewis
GB News shareholders: Nigel Farage and Dan Wootton top staff awards
Solutions journalism: How to offer audience an alternative news agenda
Telegraph bid contender Sir William Lewis named CEO of Washington Post
Piers Morgan TalkTV show hits 2m subs helped by Israel-Hamas war coverage
UK ad spend to grow in 2023 – but only the tech giants will benefit
If there was a double entendre there I can assure you it was inadvertent!
The opening two paragraphs in this are really beneath you. Come on Press Gazette, you're better than that.