As 2024 progresses, the recovery trend of publishers‘ businesses seems to be holding strong. Despite challenges faced in recent years, publishers are seeing positive growth in various aspects of their businesses, including digital advertising revenue, digital subscriptions, AI content licensing deals, and commerce. Let’s take a closer look at how some of the major public media companies fared in the second quarter of the year.
In terms of digital advertising revenue, four out of the five public media companies included in the earnings analysis reported increases year over year. Dow Jones, The New York Times, Gannett, and Dotdash Meredith all saw growth in their digital ad revenue, with some even surpassing their numbers from the same quarter in 2022. Gannett, in particular, attributed its 4% year-over-year growth in digital ad revenue to an increase in programmatic advertising and page view growth, with expectations for continued growth throughout the rest of the year.
Digital subscriptions also continued to show positive growth for Gannett, The New York Times, and News Corp’s The Wall Street Journal. Gannett reported record-breaking numbers for its digital-only subscription business, with total revenue growing about 22% year over year and average revenue per user increasing by 20%. The New York Times crossed the threshold of 10 million digital-only subscribers, adding 300,000 new subscribers in the second quarter.
In terms of traffic trends, some publishers reported wins in audience growth despite challenges from changes in Google’s algorithm and social platforms‘ audience strategies. BuzzFeed, Dotdash Meredith, and News Corp saw increases in their audience numbers, with BuzzFeed noting sequential increases in logged-in visitors and page views per unique visitor. News Corp’s New York Post achieved profitability for the first time in years and saw a significant increase in unique visitors.
Artificial intelligence also played a role in publishers‘ strategies, with deals with AI tech companies such as OpenAI being a focus for some. Dotdash Meredith, News Corp, and Gannett shared insights into their approach to working with AI companies, with Gannett emphasizing the importance of fair value for their content in any AI content licensing deals.
Commerce also showed positive momentum for some publishers, with affiliate revenue growing significantly for Gannett and The New York Times. BuzzFeed also saw growth in its affiliate commerce revenue, citing it as one of their largest and highest margin lines of business.
Overall, the second quarter of 2024 has shown promising signs of recovery for publishers‘ businesses. With growth in digital advertising revenue, digital subscriptions, AI content licensing deals, and commerce, publishers are optimistic about the remainder of the year. As they continue to adapt to changing trends and technologies, the future looks bright for the publishing industry.