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Digiday Research: Publishers prioritize direct-sold ads heading into the second quarter
This research is based on unique data collected from our proprietary audience of publisher, agency, brand and tech insiders. It’s available to Digiday+ members. More from the series →
Direct-sold ads are still the biggest source of revenue for publishers online, according to the latest Digiday Research.
Our six-month benchmarking survey found that 53% of publishers said direct-sold advertising is a large or very large source of revenue for them. Programmatic ads are a large source of revenue for 35% of publishers, while video advertising is for 28%.
That’s in line with last fall’s findings: Of the 135 publishers surveyed by Digiday last fall, more than 50% of publishers reported that direct-sold advertising was a large or very large source of revenue for them. Video advertising was also another bright spot, with 28% of publishers reporting it as a large or very large source of revenue, as were programmatic ads, with 35%.
Subscriptions, in the meantime, are a large or very large source of revenue for only 21% of publishers. About 40% of publishers say it isn’t a source of revenue for them at all — flat from six months ago.
Still, growing that direct reader revenue was the biggest priority for publishers heading into 2020: Back in October, 46% of respondents said growing subscriptions was a major focus for them. Now, 40% of respondents said growing subscriptions is a major focus as they look to finish out the year.
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