Thursday 6th May: Desktop spike is good news for publishers

May 06, 2021

Good morning! Today's Media Roundup is brought to you by Esther.

Working from home has changed the way we read. People are now scrolling deeper through article pages on desktop, and slightly less through articles on mobile. Several factors are likely to be influencing the trend, including a higher likelihood of finding relevant articles via search on desktop than via social on mobile.

For publishers with ads, this is good news. Mobile views have historically been much harder to monetize with ads due to limited screen space and less reliable connectivity. If readers are now sitting back at home and engaging at a deeper level with articles on their desktop, that in turn means the time spent on the site will be generating more revenue than if they're skimming through a piece on a small screen on their commute.

We're curious...have you noticed an increase in desktop visitors or any subsequent influence on ad revenue? Let us know - just reply to this email to reach us.

Facebook's top "court" has upheld Donald Trump's ban from the platform. But they have criticised the permanent nature of the ban as beyond the scope of Facebook's normal penalties. Facebook now has to review the decision and 'justify a proportionate response' that is applied to everyone.

Few media sectors have been hit harder by Covid-19 than the one in South Africa. But amid all the carnage, there’s been some good news online. With the launch of two digital magazines – music platform TheJournalistDJ.com and seasonal jewellery title JZA, niche publishers in the Republic are playing a leading role in helping the industry get up off the canvas.

Some great examples here of publishers who have actually made a pretty impressive shift to virtual. The Texas Tribune found that the less expensive logistics of going online allowed it to produce more events with an increased profit margin. And the Minneapolis Star Tribune managed to preserve the majority of sponsorship revenue through a virtual state fair.

This week's episode:

This week Twitch’s Creative Strategy Lead Jack Woodcock tells us about the opportunities for publishers around livestreaming, what lessons we can learn from the success of individual streamers, and how the team at Twitch looks to the community when creating new features.

We're looking to establish a regular meetup (virtual at first, but hopefully face-to-face in the future) for people working on podcasting in publishing companies to come together and share tips, learnings, and help each other with challenges. Our first group call is on Wednesday 26th May at 16.00 BST - learn more and RSVP on this link!