ACCA’s latest SBL pre-seen is all about publishing, something you would hope PQ magazine knows a little about!
We are told that Merceh Co is one of the five biggest publishers of magazines in Darland, and is 60 years young!
This ‘leisure activities’ publisher specialises in print and digital formats, and without doubt the most significant challenge is the declining demand for print-based magazines, and the need to replace loss of income from subs and sales to retailers.
The Press Gazette recently reported on the success of the Dublin-based Irish Times, which has successfully switched from print to digital focus, with the result that its 150,000 subscribers now fully fund the newsroom. The owner of the 167-year-old title employs 840 people and turns a profit.
The paper has gone from thinking about being digital first, to being audience first or subscriber first. It has a fairly hard paywall giving away access to a small number of articles for free, some content is subscriber only
The standard subscription for the Irish Times is just over £12 a month. There is a premium package for £17.41 a month. The package also includes access to the New York Times. The only discount currently available is for the first month.
The Press Gazette is a great source of information for this case study. Read the full story on the Irish Times at:
https://pressgazette.co.uk/paywalls/irish-times-journalism-now-fully-funded-by-subscribers
Check out aCOWtancy’s Richard Clarke’s 10 predictions too, they are great.
He hones in on:
- Digital transformation of the basic offering. Print down 17%, and Merche
- In-house printing – It is different, they print in-house! Unique fact, so coming up.
- Revenue plateau – margins shrinking
- Governance – directors hold 30%, quite high – alignment or entrenchment? Got to challenge claims
- Cyber security – database with payment details. Board thinks security is sufficient!
- Acquisition
- AI and content – poor content number one risk.
- Sustainability gaps.
- Workforce – freelance dependence, staff turnover key, How run digital transformation over it’s 8 offices
- Stakeholder engagement – 13 groups equals 13 possible conflicts.
