Print outperforms digital at Reach | GB News losses grow | Mehdi Hasan on new start-up
And Prince Harry permitted to use confidential Leveson docs in Mail litigation
Welcome to your daily newsletter from Press Gazette on Tuesday, 5 March.
The latest GB News accounts show that deep-pocketed investors have so far sunk £76m into the broadcaster, with the losses growing every year.
Revenue is growing sharply but there appears little prospect of Paul Marshall, Legatum Ventures and others getting their investment back any time soon.
The channel continues to grow its audience and influence, and with News UK looking to me increasingly likely to pull the plug on TalkTV as a linear broadcaster, the future could become brighter for Britain's first (and maybe soon only) right-leaning TV news broadcaster.
Today we also have the latest Reach results which, considering what a tough year 2023 was, could have been worse.
Overall revenue was down 5%. But, rather alarmingly, print was propping up the digital operation. Print cover-price rises tend to accelerate circulation decline, so this is not a long-term strategy for success. There are grounds for optimism though with the success of the company's first-party data strategy which now delivers advertising yields that are ten times higher than open programmatic for known readers.
We have an interview with Mehdi Hasan (a former colleague at the New Statesman group) who talks about his new media venture Zeteo. Hasan is CEO and editor-in-chief of the newsletter, podcast and video publisher that is already nearing 100,000 free subscribers.
And finally, Prince Harry has recorded a legal win versus the publisher of the Daily Mail, which will cheer him up after losing his battle to make the Home Office cover the cost of his UK security.
The Government has varied an order made at the 2011 Leveson Inquiry allowing for the release of "ledger cards" detailing payments made by the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday to private investigators. This evidence could be useful for the litigious royal and his co-defendants in their action against the Mail titles over historic allegations of illegal newsgathering.
New from Press Gazette
Reach results 2023: Revenue falls 5% as print out-performs digital
Digital revenues were the hardest hit, falling by 15% to £127.4m. Print revenues were more resilient, down by 2% to £438.8m as newsprint costs reduced by 21% compared to 2022 when they rocketed up, and cover price increases offset the impact of continued circulation decline.
GB News losses up 38% to £42.4m giving channel total deficit of £76m since launch
In the most recent financial year GB News’ losses were six times greater than revenue - somewhat better than in its previous results when they were ten times greater.
Mehdi Hasan says new outlet Zeteo will be ‘all-singing, all-dancing media company’
At time of publication Zeteo had a total of 94,000 subscribers on Substack, where the new publication is hosted. Hasan would not disclose the number of paid subscribers but said it was “fivefold above what our expectations were”.
Confidential Leveson documents can be disclosed in Harry’s Mail legal action
In a joint statement on Friday, the Culture Secretary and the Home Secretary said they had decided to vary the restriction order made by Lord Leveson and allow documents from the inquiry to be disclosed “for the purposes of the legal proceedings”.
News in brief
Former Reach group editor-in-chief Lloyd Embley has joined the board of directors for PR pitching platform Synapse. (Press Gazette)
Jeremy Corbyn says he is commencing legal action against Nigel Farage - reportedly over statements made by Farage on GB News. (The National)
BBC Radio 4's The Media Show each Wednesday is extending from 30 minutes to an hour and will be presented from a visualised studio with highlights airing on the BBC News Channel at weekends and on BBC World Service on Thursday mornings. (BBC)
Microsoft has accused The New York Times of "doomsday futurology" for claiming ChatGPT could ruin the news business. The NYT is suing Microsoft and OpenAI for the use of its content to train ChatGPT. (Financial Times)
Latest podcast
Podcast 66: Online advertising – how publishers can survive a tsunami of change
Online advertising used to support investigative journalism at digital-native brands such as Buzzfeed News and Vice. In the space of just a few years everything has changed, and thousands of journalists have lost their jobs as a result.
Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford talks to former Business Insider editor-in-chief Jim Edwards about what is going on and how publishers should adapt to an online publishing ecosystem which is being rocked by a tsunami of disruptive change.
This week on Press Gazette
Dan Wootton/Laurence Fox ruling: Ofcom has ‘significant concerns’ about GB News
‘Open up and talk about it’: ITN chief Rachel Corp on newsroom mental health
Semafor extends Microsoft sponsorship with global election hub
National media home affairs editors write joint letter of protest to Home Office PR team
Concerns raised Israel is deliberately targeting journalists in Gaza