The key hits:

• The economic downturn made the final months of 2022 less fruitful for publishers’ advertising businesses than anticipated.
• Revenue diversification through other business lines might only get publishers in line with this year’s revenue goals, versus exceeding them.
• Publishers under pressure means more pressure on newsrooms, but unions are demanding fair pay more loudly than in years past.
• And if things get too bad, publishers are willing to pull the necessary levers to right the ship, including cutting costs via layoffs.

Publishers used 2021 as the launch pad for new businesses and growth opportunities, ranging from big shifts like merging with or acquiring competitors to smaller experiments with emerging technology like Web3 and NFTs. But that period of expansion and devil-may-care spending seemed to come to a halt by the second quarter of 2022 when the economy began to refreeze after the false spring.

“This year we saw the slowdown really happen in Q2. [Then] in Q4 this year, we didn’t have that influx like we normally do. [Those budgets are] getting pushed into Q1,” said Sherry Phillips, CRO of Forbes.

Reports are showing that this year didn’t seem to live up to the expectations publishers set for themselves after a successful 2021. Vice Media Group, for example, is pacing to be on par with 2021’s total revenue (around $600 million), missing its goal of $700 million by over $100 million, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Not alone in needing to shift expectations, other publishers were caught off guard by how hard hit their advertising businesses were in the fourth quarter this year. “It’s one of the most challenging Q4’s I’ve ever experienced,” a media executive told Digiday in November.

Here’s a look at the top 2022 takeaways from Digiday’s media team.

Advertising takes continuous hits

Publishers have grappled with decreasing advertising revenue since the early months of 2022. News publishers began feeling the blows from brand safety concerns as early as February surrounding news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the subsequent supply chain issues. China’s Covid lockdown impacted other advertising budgets. And all the while, rising interest rates and an ever-looming potential recession, have led the advertising industry unable to catch its breath to finally have a good quarter this year.

“Advertising was very difficult. A lot of our normal, big partners pulled back in the back half. So we did fine this year, but I feel much more optimistic about what’s to come [in 2023] than …read more

Source:: Digiday

Author: Aaron