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.
More in Media
Why publishers are questioning the effectiveness of blocking AI web crawlers
Publishers are unsure if blocking AI web crawlers is enough to protect their content from being scraped and used to feed AI tools and systems.
Meta adds a human element to AI, while others warn it all could be too ‘human like’
New features include a new chatbot called MetaAI, Bing search integration, new AI image tools, and dozens of celebrity characters.
Financial Times targets U.S. and global readers with subscription app products
The Financial Times has launched another lower-priced, subscription-based mobile app product a year after the debut of FT Edit to reach international readers.