Tribune bought by Islam Channel | New European goes global
And Press Gazette is still top of the table traffic-wise when it comes to US and UK news websites covering the business of publishing (in your face Digiday!)
Good morning and welcome to your daily Press Gazette media briefing on Friday, 6 June, brought to you in association with Admiral - the Visitor Relationship Company.
CBS Sports worked with Admiral to use real-time journey shaping to engage over 18 million visitors for major live events like the Super Bowl and March Madness, delivering personalised campaigns at scale, and driving high-value outcomes including Paramount+ subscriptions and live stream views.
A bit of positive news to brighten your Friday from The New European.
The title, which started life as a pop-up print weekly in response to Brexit nine years ago, has just re-branded as The New World to reflect its broader remit (and the fact, as founder Matt Kelly says, "there is no value in always trying to relitigate Brexit").
He told me how it now turns over £2.6m a year and has 35,000 print and/or digital subscribers.
It is now eyeing expansion into the USA fuelled by revenue which is entirely based on reader payments.
It has been bought by UK satellite TV broadcaster the Islam Channel in a move which has angered former editor Paul Anderson, who told Press Gazette: “Tribune was always secularist and not connected with organised religion. This deal is completely bizarre, and one of the weirdest things to have happened in the history of British media.”
We also have the latest top 50 US news websites ranking, which shows the challenges AP News is having getting access to White House briefings has not done it a jot of damage in the traffic race. The Sun and HuffPost are among the fastest-falling news websites in our top 50.
And forgive me a bit of trumpet blowing, but Press Gazette has lengthened our lead as the most popular website in the world covering news about the publishing side of media (there are more than you might realise!).
Our traffic is broadly level year on year, according to Similarweb, with around 400,000 visits per month. This is a decent result given Twitter and Facebook referral traffic to our site has gone down the toilet.
Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend when you get there.
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This event celebrates the websites, apps, podcasts, newsletters and commercial strategies which are lighting the way to a profitable future for journalism in the digital age. Find out more here and remember to finalise your entry by 19 June for the chance to shower in glory at the awards dinner in September.
From our sponsor
How CBS Sports used Admiral’s real-time journey shaping to boost ad revenue
Admiral, the Visitor Relationship Management (VRM) company, empowers leading publishers to guide audiences toward deeper engagement and higher revenue outcomes—with no dev lift required.
Case Study: CBS Sports
For high-stakes events like the NFL Playoffs and March Madness, CBS Sports used Admiral Convert to deploy over ten hyper-targeted campaigns, engaging 18.5 million-plus visitors in real-time.
Highlights:
20 million-plus impressions during live events
CTRs up to 33.33%
eCPM exceeding $100
With countdown timers, DMA-targeted messaging, and real-time optimisation, CBS Sports turned live events into high-converting engagement moments.
On Press Gazette
New look, new paper and new name for The New European
“I see it as an antidote to corrosive right-wing populism in the media. We stand for an inclusive view of what the future can be, not based on division and nationalism.”
UK political mag Tribune bought by Islam Channel
“A new future for Tribune should excite anyone who wants real change, and a better and brighter future for all.”
Sun names new political editor and drops business page
Jack Elsom replaces Harry Cole who has new US-based role on TV and Youtube.
Press Gazette tops ranking of websites covering media industry news
News in brief
ABC has changed its auditing rules so that print and digital copies sent to the same person count twice in the sales total (provided print and digital is sold as a bundle). Move will likely inflate figures. (ABC)
Times Radio has announced that former BBC stalwarts Jo Coburn and Stephen Sackur are joining the roster of regular The Times at One presenters.
UK-based trends forecaster WGSN has acquired alcoholic drinks data provider IWSR in what is believed to be a £200m deal. WGSN was itself bought by Apax private equity for £700m last year.
Also on Press Gazette
Google ‘handling stolen goods’ with Youtube theft of paywalled news articles
Why Business Insider is axing 100-plus staff and who is leaving
Former editor switches from local news to lifestyle with launch of 14 titles
Met Police says terror investigation ongoing over journalist’s tweets
Gerry Adams awarded £84,000 in damages after suing BBC for libel
Who’s suing AI and who’s signing: New York Times signs its first AI deal with Amazon
How launching podcasts on Youtube has prompted ‘explosive’ growth for Goalhanger
Latest podcast: Death of the website, the never-ending pivot to video and why Dom loves Substack
'The death of the website' was the name of one panel session at a recent publishing industry conference. Press Gazette editor in chief Dominic Ponsford and UK editor Charlotte Tobitt discuss why this statement is nonsense, but also the tech and behaviour changes which are prompting people to say it.
They also analyse the latest publisher pivot to video (more a never-ending pirouette) and Dominic explains why he has become an unpaid brand ambassador for Substack.