Publishers’ digital revenue on way up despite despite inflationary pressure
Digital revenue is on the way up as recruitment sites lead the way for online growth.
A new report from the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) and Deloitte found total digital revenue for the third quarter of this year was up by 2.7 per cent from last year to £153.5m.
Recruitment sites continued to see the strongest growth for publishers, increasing by 21.4 per cent compared to 2021.
Display advertising also demonstrated steady growth of 13.9 per cent – from £59.8m to £68.1m this year – with subscriptions another area tracking positively this quarter, up 12.1 per cent.
The boom in subscription revenues demonstrates audience willingness to pay for quality content, even during a cost-of-living crisis.
On a twelve-month rolling basis, total digital revenue has increased to £632.1m (up by 6.6 per cent), with both B2B and B2C publishers experiencing an uptick in revenues.
B2B revenue increased by 12.2 per cent to £55.9m in September 2022 on a 12-month rolling basis, driven by the growth of display formats, classifieds, and subscriptions.
Meanwhile, B2C revenue grew by 6.1 per cent in September 2022 on a 12-month rolling basis.
“The ongoing growth of the digital publishing market, despite increased strain on spending power, is a reflection of the tenacity of publishers and a strong online market,” Dan Ison, lead partner for telecommunications, media and entertainment at Deloitte, said.
He added that the ongoing growth of subscriptions showed “fierce appetite for digital content”.
“It is clear that consumers are still willing to pay for top-tier content, even with squeezed budgets, which paints a positive outlook for publishing.”