The Media Revenue Issue: What is driving Condé Nast's profitability, the Sun explores front-page NFTs, Italian brand attracts 50,000 members and the valuation question of podcasts

February 18, 2022

As advertising has shifted from the dominant form of revenue for media companies to a much smaller slice of the pie, revenue from other sources is what is supporting profitability. It was clear in the middle of the last decade that revenue innovation was just as critical if not more than content innovation, and when I was consulting, I often said to media managers and executives that for every content innovation you roll out, you need at least two revenue innovations to support it.

And it's great to see that all of this business innovation is finally paying off. We're seeing a flowering of business models that span across a range of brands and geographies. From profit-driven to the non-profit sector, media managers are finding the solutions that will support their continued vitality and growth. In some places and for some brands, membership will be the way forward. Il Post in Italy demonstrates that it can follow the model of National Public Radio in the US and The Guardian in the UK building sustainability on a membership model. It's a really good example of positioning, offering up a unique content offering - clearly explaining complex stories - and they are having success in attracting "cash-strapped young people".

But it's also interesting to see Quartz pursuing a membership strategy in Africa around start-up content. It's an excellent example of creating a product once they identified a loyal audience. And what both the Il Post and the Quartz example demonstrate is that subscription and membership strategies can work in a number of geographies and demographics.

The Wall Street Journal also has an interesting overview of how Condé Nast has reorganised its way to profitability. They have executed a sophisticated turnaround plan that involved streamlining their international operations, growing reader revenue through selective use of paid digital and affiliate e-commerce as well. It's a good mix of excellent management.

And then we've got the experiments in new revenue streams. The Sun is going to release some of its iconic front pages as NFTs. I'm deeply suspicious of NFTs because they feel frothy as an asset class, and it's really unclear what one is actually buying when one buys an NFT. But for the time being, it is definitely a way to raise some cash, and if the exchange actually cares about provenance, then I see a path forward for NFTs. However, shady exchanges that are driven by scale rather than scruples may forever taint NFTs.

PLUS How do we value podcasts? (And exactly how steep is the head of the long tail? Or put another way, what is in the top 10%, the top 1% and the top 0.01%?) Spotify has bought a couple of podcasting marketing platforms, and the Press Gazette continues its review of publisher tech stacks with a look at adtech.

The magazine giant attributes the feat to strong digital-revenue growth and cost savings from reorganizing its global operations, saying it generated nearly $2 billion in revenue last year.

What is the value of a podcast? It's a question reverberating throughout the media community.

The business news publisher has found a loyal audience keen on African unicorns and startups. It has now created a cheaper and more focused subscription just for this reader group

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Press Gazette has been reporting on British journalism without fear or favour since 1965. Our mission is to provide a news and information service which helps the UK journalism.

Spotify is acquiring Chartable and Podsights, two major podcast marketing platforms. Podsights is an advertising measurement service, and Chartable is a podcast analytics platform.

Learnability is a crucial component of UX for complex and novel interfaces. Cognitive walkthroughs can identify design problems that derail new users.

Press Gazette has been reporting on British journalism without fear or favour since 1965. Our mission is to provide a news and information service which helps the UK journalism.