Using the Mediatique report as your evidence base, how is online technology affecting UK national newspapers.
The Mediatique report was commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to investigate the state of the press market In this report, it considers the state of the market across local, regional and national titles to give a broad overview of business models, major player, frequency and means of publication, circulation and readership. This informs a detailed analysis of current trends, the challenges faced by publishers and the range of actions that publishers have taken in response to sustained threats to the industry.
The press industry has been under sustained threat for the past decade. Circulation has been under pressure for 20 years and the declines have accelerated in the 2000s and 2010s. In 2007, total print advertising expenditure totalled over 4.6bn and net circulation revenue 2.2bn, meaning today's aggregate advertising expenditure and net circulation figures equate to about half of their 2007 value, demonstrating the remarkably heavy losses sustained by newspaper groups on both fronts from declines in readership.
The cause of these changes is due to the advances in technological innovation, the access to these devices, particularly among younger demographics, with just 14% of 16-24 year olds report using newspapers for news, compared to 63% using the internet, where competition is much greater, content is readily available and generally free and there is a much lower propensity to pay.
This new rise in the use of the internet and mobile, specifically search and social platforms such as Facebook and Google, and the growth in digital more generally, have hit newspapers, its very important to speculate that considering the younger demographic is growing up without the newspaper dynamic, it may become relevant that newspapers will begin to die out as the new generations have minimal exposure due to the resolution of technology.
Newspaper groups have attempted to counteract revenue declines with a range of strategic responses, including scale-building, cost-cutting and diversification. The press industry, and in particular the local and regional press, has a consequence witnessed a period of significant consolidation. Consolidated groups can use scale to compete more efficiently by spreading overhead costs and investigating strategically. Margins have reduced markedly (from in excess of 30% for some local and regional groups prior to the 2008 recession to margins in the teens at best for most of those titles that are today in profit) many other titles - e.g. The Guardian and a number of local and regional titles in less populous areas - make a financial loss.
The reasons for this are as follows: there is a low propensity amongst consumers to pay for news online; newsbrands' audience are worth a premium to advertisers (thus constraining digital advertising); and finally, the scale of the competition for eyeballs and attention is vastly greater, meaning news content from publishers must compete with huge amounts of other material.
To conclude we will talk about the conclusions made in the Mediatique Report. The Report's analysis has identified serious threats and structural challenges facing the newspaper industry, as increasing amounts of people engage with online content, leading to a greater array of information for the consumers who chose to view online. As a result consumption habits have shifted away from the printed press and towards greater online engagement where the economics of news gathering and monetisation of audiences are more challenging. These habits will persist and deepen, as younger connected cohorts grow older.
The press industry has been under sustained threat for the past decade. Circulation has been under pressure for 20 years and the declines have accelerated in the 2000s and 2010s. In 2007, total print advertising expenditure totalled over 4.6bn and net circulation revenue 2.2bn, meaning today's aggregate advertising expenditure and net circulation figures equate to about half of their 2007 value, demonstrating the remarkably heavy losses sustained by newspaper groups on both fronts from declines in readership.
The cause of these changes is due to the advances in technological innovation, the access to these devices, particularly among younger demographics, with just 14% of 16-24 year olds report using newspapers for news, compared to 63% using the internet, where competition is much greater, content is readily available and generally free and there is a much lower propensity to pay.
This new rise in the use of the internet and mobile, specifically search and social platforms such as Facebook and Google, and the growth in digital more generally, have hit newspapers, its very important to speculate that considering the younger demographic is growing up without the newspaper dynamic, it may become relevant that newspapers will begin to die out as the new generations have minimal exposure due to the resolution of technology.
Newspaper groups have attempted to counteract revenue declines with a range of strategic responses, including scale-building, cost-cutting and diversification. The press industry, and in particular the local and regional press, has a consequence witnessed a period of significant consolidation. Consolidated groups can use scale to compete more efficiently by spreading overhead costs and investigating strategically. Margins have reduced markedly (from in excess of 30% for some local and regional groups prior to the 2008 recession to margins in the teens at best for most of those titles that are today in profit) many other titles - e.g. The Guardian and a number of local and regional titles in less populous areas - make a financial loss.
The reasons for this are as follows: there is a low propensity amongst consumers to pay for news online; newsbrands' audience are worth a premium to advertisers (thus constraining digital advertising); and finally, the scale of the competition for eyeballs and attention is vastly greater, meaning news content from publishers must compete with huge amounts of other material.
To conclude we will talk about the conclusions made in the Mediatique Report. The Report's analysis has identified serious threats and structural challenges facing the newspaper industry, as increasing amounts of people engage with online content, leading to a greater array of information for the consumers who chose to view online. As a result consumption habits have shifted away from the printed press and towards greater online engagement where the economics of news gathering and monetisation of audiences are more challenging. These habits will persist and deepen, as younger connected cohorts grow older.
