News’ old guard calls for reinvention amid ‘existential’ threat from social platforms

It’s been an eye-opening year for many in the media industry.

The Google ad tech antitrust trial showed just how dependent news publishers are on the search giant for revenue and traffic. Likewise, when Meta turned off its news feed in major markets earlier this year, publishers faced declines in traffic, engagement and revenue.

That sense of dependence was on the minds of news media executives last week as they gathered for the Web Summit in Lisbon. And it’s providing fresh impetus for some to reimagine their content and advertising models.

“We are absolutely lost in the scroll. This is existential for media owners,” said Julia Beizer, chief operating officer at Bloomberg Media, during a panel.

“We have an opportunity to innovate on how people are consuming,” said Beizer. “Media owners need to learn about what formats audiences need, how do we double down on what our content can do and what it means for our audiences.”

For some news publishers, this rethink starts with the content that made them household names in the first place.

“It is wrong to assume that because we have always produced this kind of content and are expected to, that this needs to continue,” said Jennie Baird, chief product officer at BBC Studios, during the panel. “Younger audiences, especially under-35s, are not really tuning in to that kind of [deeply researched] content.”

Baird didn’t share what this new world of content looks like for the over-100-year-old broadcaster. But as one of world’s preeminent media institutions, the fact that the BBC seems willing to consider a new playbook indicates just how far publishers are willing to go to appeal to advertisers and remain financially viable operations.

Don’t hold your breath on the BBC going all in on short-form videos yet, though. Baird said that while “not everyone wants a highly polished thing” and that “the diversification of formats, types and people is very good” for media, what is bad is “when that takes you down a path that wasn't the path you intended on and narrows [your worldview].”

Still, TikTok’s fast growth in ad revenue shows that advertisers are willing to take a punt on running ads alongside short-form content. But others argued that media owners need to forge their own path to establish their own audiences, without caving in to yet another one of big platforms’ formats. 

“We don’t want to give more money to the big platforms, but they own those audiences at that moment,” said Nick Halstead, founder at video analysis firm DataMarked, during the panel. “Media owners should build their own ways of broadcasting.”

But even if publishers create the content, will advertisers come?

Two recent Stagwell studies showed that ads run alongside news content were safe irrespective of topic. “Yet your 26-year-old media buyer is blocking news,” said Baird. “News gets the short end of the stick on brand safety.”

Baird said that advertisers should consider what makes good ad placements for quality brands. “Anyone can have content on YouTube. Really, you're going to put the BBC next to Joe Schmoe?” she quipped.

“News is a phenomenal investment. Marketers should give news a second look. It’s a highly affluent and educated audience,” added Beizer. 

Achieving (more) independence

Advertisers are attracted to the breadth and depth of data that media owners can make available for ad targeting, said Halstead, though for now, “the big platforms own most of the big analytics data,” he said. “Media businesses are scared to allow more of that data onto their platforms because they are walled gardens.”

Instead, publishers are turning to first-party data to achieve more insight into their audiences. Bloomberg Media, for example, is leaning on subscriber data to power its first-party data offering for advertisers.

For media companies that aim to claw back ad spend from the big platforms, first-party data is the one nonnegotiable, Baird said.

“Regardless of what you’re doing, every media company needs to have a first-party data relationship to monetize that audience better,” said Baird.