Thursday 11th February: A rising tide sells more boats

February 11, 2021

Good Morning! Today's Media Roundup has been brought to you by Chris.

Can't stop that subscription train. The Q3 2020 Digital Publishers Revenue Index from the AOP and Deloitte demonstrates that the shift to subscription revenue amongst UK publishers has gained serious momentum. In the year to Q3 2020 subscription revenue among the publishers included in the AOP’s survey increased by more than 51%.

That will have been a big relief to those publishers, at a time when the freezing winds of the pandemic have halted much adspend. As the WNIP article states: "Since the outbreak of Covid-19, news sites and premium publishers have attracted greater readerships with their trusted content; fresh opportunities to leverage this will no doubt arise as publishers make smarter decisions to support their bottom lines."

Publishers have also benefited from riding the wave of increased spending online. Press Gazette reports that: "Affiliate marketing is now a multi-million pound business for the Independent. [Independent managing director Christian] Broughton said affiliate revenue is 'really meaningful' and is set to increase by 70% on last year, helped by the rise in online shopping during lockdown."

The New Statesman has reported registered users of the site are up 83% over the past year - and subscription revenue is up 77% over the last three years. That's in line with its plans from a few years ago - and more evidence that political magazines are having a bit of a renaissance in the UK.

The Atlantic has launched a multi-year project that will "endeavour to fill the blank pages of Black history: to piece together, through reporting and data, the crucial events and conversations that have been intentionally left out of America’s narrative". A great project and one that proves that The Atlantic engaging with race isn't just a cynical attempt to get good PR.

Media groups in Poland are warning that its government is trying to undermine press freedom by curtailing their ability to monetise independently: “They are more or less copying the Hungarian approach - to diminish the viability of the independent media". In light of the UK government being accused of ignoring FOI, it's a concerning reminder press suppression isn't limited to any one country in particular.

This week's podcast:

This week Zach Seward, CEO of Quartz, explains why he bought the business lifestyle brand from Uzabase. He tells us how it all started and how it’s going, about memberships and advertising, and the Quartz mission to make business better.

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