Mather Report with David Clinch
David Clinch
#MediaRevenue Consultant at MGP. VP Partnerships - Mather Economics. #MediaRevenue
Happy Friday and welcome to our?weekly?review of important #MediaRevenue?stories this week.
Our new team member?Liesbeth Nizet is attending the?WAN-IFRA summit in Zaragoza, Spain, so please message her if you want to connect there and hear more about how our teams at Mather drive media revenue for hundreds of publishers around the world.
I attended the?ONA Conference in Los Angeles?last week and it was wonderful to see so many friends and colleagues in person after so many years.
Always?let me know on Twitter?if you spot any?#MediaRevenue?stories I may have missed. If you have any questions or comments about these updates,?please get in touch.?
Here is this week's curated selection of?#MediaRevenue?news:
"Despite bright lights for digital subscriptions in the US, print still accounts for the bulk of subscription revenue" "Subscription specialists Mather Economics forecast that the volume of digital subscribers to US titles will surpass print subscribers in 2023."
"Publishers face the dilemma of deciding how hard to push their print subscribers to?maximise subscription revenue?at the expense of potentially increasing the velocity of print circulation declines. There are arguments for and against extending the print runway that publishers must try to resolve." - Peter Doucette
"A larger portion of the company's profits now comes from its specialty media, data and software businesses than from its traditional consumer media businesses, which include magazines, newspapers, and local and national TV."
The Lee announcement comes shortly after?News Corp Australia said?its scores of newspapers will drop their comic strips.
"The proposal involves the potential closure of about 382 jobs in news content, news output and operations."
"NPR's leadership in podcasting has made the popular audio form one of the network's growing sources of audiences and revenues in recent years. Yet that has come under duress from competition from other public radio players and, more recently, for-profit outfits–leading to arms races for talent, audiences and revenue."
"A cut to zero in the rate of Vat applied to newspapers and digital subscriptions will be seen as a lifeline for the industry which lobbied hard to bring rates in line with European peers."
"The union wants an 8% raise each year over four years for its members, while Times brass has offered a 4% hike for the first year and then 2% for the following two (with an additional 1% in merit raise pools), an increase that the union, which is also asking for cost of living adjustments, says amounts to a cut given inflation. They point to the paper's strong financial position, with nearly?10 million paid subscribers?and a mountain of cash for acquisitions like?The Athletic?and?Wordle."
"The ad-supported streaming channels, serving 26 U.S. media markets in 39 states, provide news and local content produced by Hearst’s TV stations."
"Hearst...is in the process of launching a new marketplace in the fourth quarter. The marketplace is meant to be the new hub for the company’s DTC products and licensed products, but it will also be a new sales channel for the brands and products that readers of Hearst’s media brands regularly shop for as well."
"G+ is a managed service run for the advertiser. The other channels are all?self-service?in which the buyers operate it for themselves. G+ and Programmatic Guaranteed are also guaranteed, while the others are not. All of the channels use first-party data except OMPs, which use third-party data. When it comes to pricing, the more?data?and guarantees are offered, the higher the charge for those impressions. Therefore, OMPs are the lowest priced, going up the chain to G+ being the highest priced."
"The US edition of Mail Online will remain editorially separate, with this week’s changes affecting only the UK newsrooms."
"Mabry will be responsible for the CNN Digital Global Programming, Features, and Visuals teams in this role. The CNN Opinion, CNN Style, and CNN Travel sub-brands also fall under his purview. He will report to?Wendy Brundige,?currently?CNN’s interim chief digital officer."
"...person who was laid off told Insider that about eight people were affected, impacting editorial and sales. A CNN spokesperson confirmed a small number of cuts in audio took place."
"The cuts come months after?Recurrent Ventures shuttered MEL Magazine, the digital media darling it?rescued?from closure last year."
"The publisher has grown both businesses by honing its subscription pipeline"
"The acquisition, if completed, is set to close in 2023, with a vision of keeping the Record-Chronicle locally owned and serving Denton County with local news and information connected to the community."
Love this concept of minimum “delightful” product instead of the traditional MVP from Kat Downs Mulder at #wnmc22