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The 21st century’s biggest news media start ups
Everyone loves a list and this one’s a doozy – 20+ years of digital media outfits ranked by revenue. It’s no huge surprise that Meta – with Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – tops the list of 25 media businesses that have started since the turn of the century. The fact that Bytedance with TikTok is at number 2 did come as a surprise.
Not one of the top five on the list actually creates any content. Meta, Bytedance, Spotify, Snap and Twitter – they’re all platforms. And the difference between Meta’s turnover and the first content creator (Red Ventures) is about $114 billion. Clearly, If you want to make money in 21st century media, be a platform and distribute other people’s content.
There’s an interesting subsidiary list of new businesses that have been bought by old news businesses – 2012’s Industry Dive, bought by Informa for $500 million, is my absolute favourite on there. I also wondered for a moment why Google and Amazon weren’t on the list, then realised that they’re so last century.
Onboarding process shows new subscribers are more engaged
Gannett launched a new e-mail onboarding process last summer and has seen success in improving reader engagement. Over 10 to 15 e-mails, new subscribers get a welcome message, an app-download invite, and an e-mail highlighting the e-newspaper. Onboarding click-through rates are nearly 100% better than previously.
Haymarket profits up on revenue increase of 12%
Haymarket Group increased annual profits to £16.9m last year, with revenues up 12%. It expects similar double-digit growth in the current financial year. The continued rebound in live events after the pandemic helped to boost performance for the group. Chief executive Kevin Costello, said the Haymarket Business Media delivered an exceptional performance, noting that “paid content has proved to be the engine powering their growth”.
Article series and text messages target younger audiences
Academic news website The Conversation is using article series and text message strategies to appeal to a younger readership after audience research showed that a bulk of its readers were in the 18 to 35 age bracket. Commissioning editor Avery Anapol said the approach has not just been about introducing new topics, but commissioning with outcomes in mind – article completions and dwell times are the only two metrics used to measure success.
NEW EPISODE: Financial Times’ Head of Newsletters Sarah Ebner on the varied role of newsletters
On this week’s episode, we hear from Sarah Ebner, Executive Editor and Head of Newsletters at the Financial Times. She tells us about her role leading the newsletter team at the FT, and the value of newsletters in subscriber acquisition and retention but also as paid products in their own right.
