Study : Online publishing's future uncertain
Growth is strong, but also commercial pressures on publishers
Zurich (pte011/17.02.2003/09:25) The cogitations of 20 top news publishing businesses have been recorded for posterity by the German consultancy, Interactive Publishing. The report, based on discussions at the company's recent symposium on the subject, provides a comprehensive panorama of current thinking. http://www.interactivepublishing.net/works/ipreport/
The group of 20, made up of senior online publishing specialists from many of the biggest players including Le Monde, WallStreet Journal, VG, the Guardian and La Stampa, were asked to discuss where their industry will be going between now and 2005, to identify key stumbling blocks - and to define the success factors.
Speakers were agreed that online news publishing is undergoing a period of uncertaintly, largely as a result of commercial pressures on publishers in general, with inevitably lower budgets. But the underlying growth in the market for online is strong, with fast growing user-bases and a rapidly improving technical infrastructure.
Those attending the symposium were all positive about medium-term and long term growth, with 'optimists' predicting a faster development than the 'pessimists' amongst the group. They shared much the same vision of the industry in the next few years: coherent cross-media strategy; more targetting of content to small, more specialist markets; a greater commitment to and understanding of the needs of advertisers. Speakers agreed that only 20-30% of the revenue potential for their companies had been realized in the online environment.
Advertisers, it was claimed, continue to underestimate the brand-building power of online, but it was also agreed that the industry itself could do more in terms of developing and spreading new standards and metrics. Success in attracting secure and substantial advertising support will rest on publishers' willingness to invest in this area, and to cooperate nationally and internationally.
Another emerging trend, according to those present, is that of parallel development of multiple revenue streams, allowing for the exploitation of both paid-for content and advertising-led models. There was agreement that the argument is not so muc between which is most appropriate but how both can co-exist. There was a clearly expressed conviction that neither subscription not advertising pricing was sophisticated enough, and that advertisers must, and gradually will, understand the power of online media, and pay accordingly.
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