There’s undeniably a supply and demand problem in digital media. Simulmedia CEO Dave Morgan told Digiday it would be what kept him awake if he was a publisher. In Ad Age Gene Hoffman goes a step farther. The CEO of subscription tech service Vindicia says that the digital media world is trapped in an unrelenting “race to the bottom” that will force niche publishers into tough choices and could spell the end of the mostly open Internet content world.
“This is the fundamental problem with the present-day advertising model,” he writes. “To build the necessary scalability to attract and retain advertisers who support the underlying business, online media companies have to forgo niches. These are the business imperatives for advertising-supported media businesses.”
Hoffman’s solution, naturally, is more subscription services, something his company happens to offer. Still, his point holds that the Internet content model is askew when a shining star like The Huffington Post comes by its success by publishing up to 1,000 pieces of content per day. Morgan recommends publishers take a page out of the book of Zynga with its multiple revenue streams — and the way a small percentage of its audience pays to support a much larger audience.
More in Media
The Rundown: Google has drawn its AI payment lines — and publishers’ leverage is narrow
For publishers trying to navigate AI licensing, the message was blunt: Google is willing to pay for access, but not for training – and it remains unwilling to define AI Overviews as a compensable use of journalism.
Media Briefing: Google’s latest core update a reminder that pageviews can’t remain the primary metric
Google’s latest core update signals pageviews can no longer be the primary metric, favoring intent-solving publishers over scale.
After an oversaturation of AI-generated content, creators’ authenticity and ‘messiness’ are in high demand
Content creators and brand marketing specialists on how 2026 will be the year creator authenticity becomes even more crucial in the face of rampant AI-generated “slop” flooding social media platforms.