Articles by: "Rande Price, Research VP – DCN"

In the past, encouraged by a strong economy, consumers found core societal institutions, government, business, NGOs and media, both competent and of high ethical standing. Unfortunately, according to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer, this sentiment is no longer true due to the rise of violence, government corruption, fake news, financial insecurity, and other unsettling conditions. Today’s consumer does not trust the government, businesses, NGOs, or media.

Edelman defines trust based on a combined measurement of these two distinct attributes: competence (delivering on promises) and ethical behavior (doing the right thing and working to improve society). The Edelman Trust Barometer is based on an online survey sampled of more than 34,000 respondents across 28 markets.

Edelman reports a significant imbalance of trust, a 14-point gap, settings a new record among the informed public and the mass population. The informed public, defined by Edelman as a wealthier, more educated and trusting consumer cohort, are far more trusting of every institution than the mass population.

Media trust

Within the media sector, search engines and traditional media (newspapers and broadcasting) are equally trusted at 61%. Social media, on the other hand, is the least trusted media source at 39%. And in developed countries traditional media outperforms social platforms by 30 points on average.

Social platforms continue to fuel the growth of distrust in media. While smartphones offer the power of communication in the user’s hand, this accessibility also accelerates the flow of user generated content and comments. Unfortunately, social amplifies and exaggerates false and misinformation and magnifies filter bubbles of extremism. It’s no wonder that three-quarters of respondents (76%) said that they worry about false information or fake news being used as a weapon.

For the first time this year, the Edelman Trust Barometer asked respondents to rate if an institution is doing well to very well on different issues. Related to this was a question to gauge the potential impact on trust associated with each issue. Media companies scored lowest on five issues: keeping social media clean, being objective, information quality, important vs. sensationalized content and differentiate opinion and fact. However, if media companies perform better on these issues, it will drive significant consumer trust.

Insert To build trust chart

It’s important for premium publishers, when working with social platforms, to ensure their brands are clearly differentiated from the platforms where their content appears. Further, publishers should continue to find new ways to build trust, especially on the issues with the most potential to growth in trust. Because, given their direct one-to-one relationship with consumers, trust is a critical factor for publisher success.

Industry-Research

Reuters finds reader revenue critical for the future of media

January 21, 2020 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

Mobile and social media received a lot of attention this last decade. Major media trends included fragmented attention, intermediated media, and growing distrust in journalism. So, what will the next 10 years present? The Reuters Institute once again looks at our past and evaluates emerging trends to forecast what’s ahead in media in its report, Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions 2020. Overarching themes for digital media in the next decade center on internet regulation, the re-establishment of trust in journalism, and creating a closer connection with the audience.

In addition, the report includes key trends and predictions for 2020 (see full report for the entire list).

1. The media business looks good; journalism less so.

The media business has a positive outlook but not so for journalism itself. While media executives feel confident or very confident about their company’s prospects in 2020, they feel less so about journalism in general. Their confidence for the media business centers on reader revenue and paid content, stable and growing income while advertising remains unstable. Further, the media business looks strong while consolidation is expected to continue. The latest in consolidation is a focus on keeping the editorial voice of the brands acquired while integrating back-end tech and data systems.

2. Digital leaders have mixed reviews for platforms.

Those surveyed are more positive about Google and Twitter than Apple, Facebook, Snapchat, and Amazon when it comes to initiatives to support journalism. Sixty percent of respondents rated Google as average or better while the other platforms were less favorable (it’s important to note that many publishers surveyed are currently or past recipients of Google innovation funds).

The overall sentiment from publishers regarding platforms is they want a level playing field where they can compete fairly and get proper compensation for their content and its value. Publishers in the EU are trying new intervention tactics to address these companies dominance. One example is the EU’s new copyright directive, aka the link tax. This policy requires platforms to pay for unlicensed content that appears in aggregated news services. France is the first member state to carry out the directive. Google reacted with displaying less content rather than pay. Courts will be deciding the next actions.

3. Reader revenue is a major focus for the new decade.

Executives believe reader revenue offers stable and growing income for news publishers. Half of those surveyed report that reader revenue is the most important revenue stream going forward. Subscriptions and memberships help publishers access reader information. In fact, many publishers rely on consumers login to their services for first party data. With new data tracking regulation in play and opt out ad-tracking browsers, publishers need to entice readers to register and login.

4. Audience growth, better measurement and ease of access will continue the growth of podcasts.

By 2021, US podcasting revenue is projected to grow by approximately 30% a year to reach over $1 billion. New formats are being explored from the recognized interview and chat format to new documentary formats.

Bigger audiences, better measurement, and easier access have combined to change the economics of podcasting. This is encouraging publishers to invest in creating more quality content and platforms to invest in better distribution and monetization.

Overall, the report finds that digital publishers seek to diversify revenue and strengthen user engagement with multiple touchpoints and products in the decade ahead. Newsroom have the added challenge of modernizing their presentation without compromising quality and trust and receiving proper compensation from the intermediates. While many industry challenges continue, publishers are well positioned to tackle these issues.

Advertising | DCN-Research

New DCN report offers insights on programmatic marketplace

January 7, 2020 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

Digital Content Next (DCN) has released a strategic advertising report, TRUSTX Programmatic Market Insights Report, which offers learnings on the mechanisms, practices, and performance in play in the programmatic market. The report is based on interviews with publishers as well as insights from the teams at DCN and TRUSTX – DCN’s cooperative and private marketplace launched in 2016. It gathers insights from publishers and distills best practices to help educate and drive a positive industry discussion in the programmatic ecosystem.

Publishers report that there is an overall institutional resistance to adopting a cost-per viewable model at scale within a media ecosystem predicated on low CPMs and often low-quality content. The report also uncovers some high-level insights into the programmatic market and offers an insider’s view into programmatic practices.

Supply-Path Optimization (SPO) and Demand-Side-Platform (DSP) Throttling

Two specific industry practice noted by publishers include:
Supply-Path Optimization (SPO) and Demand-Side-Platform (DSP) Throttling

This practice occurs when DSPs exclude an SSP’s bid based on bidding history in order to increase the likelihood that a bid will win. DSPs favor the SSPs with the highest number of queries per second (QPS). This enables DSP supply path optimization intelligence to “learn” how to win.

These SPO algorithms can be a barrier for smaller, newer SSP entrants. SPO algorithms, as they are designed today, favor established, larger scale SSPs. Increased visibility into the opaque ad tech ecosystem was cited as one of the most valuable benefits of participating in TRUSTX. Publishers believe that transparency is critical to strengthen the digital advertising market.

Hidden Reselling

It is not uncommon for SSPs to leverage indirect buying channels (other ad networks and exchanges) to tap into unsold inventory. These additional supply-chain interactions, through what are known as resellers, increase non-working media costs to buyers (additional ad-tech taxes), and diminish revenue to publishers. Reseller routes to premium publisher inventory are typically invisible to buyers, and sometimes not visible to sellers. (Note that TRUSTX does not permit any resellers in its supply-chain; all buyers get a direct path to all publishers.)

While publishers agree that TRUSTX has advanced the programmatic marketplace, they also see opportunity to further evolve marketplace dynamics. This includes marketing officers and agency executives directing their buyers to spend only in premium programmatic environments that are based on value-driven economics rather than auction-based systems predicated on cheap CPMs and cost

Industry-Research

Consumers are excited about 5G connectivity. Less so about escalating privacy concerns

December 17, 2019 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

Perhaps the word of the year for 2019 should be “connectivity.” According to Deloitte’s new report, 2019 Connectivity and Mobile Trends (CMT), the average household now has 11 connected devices, with seven different smart screens to view content. Smart home devices are also popular with more than a quarter of U.S. households (28%). Consumers are using connected thermostats, security, lights, and other connected products.

Consumers are also enthusiastic about 5th generation wireless networks (5G) and the promise of higher performance, greater reliability, and more cost-effective usage. Awareness is quite high with close to two-thirds of consumers reporting that they are familiar with 5G wireless networks. In fact, 28% of consumers say they are “very likely” to buy a compatible smartphone when the service is available in their area.

According to Deloitte’s findings, both Gen Z and Millennials plan to use 5G for its promise of speed and bandwidth for gaming and entertainment services like augmented reality and virtual reality (AR and VR). These services require high-speed, low-latency connections. Further, mobile gaming will also see a surge in usage. Nearly half of both Gen Z and Millennials familiar with 5G (49%), report that they will play more mobile video games using 5G connectivity.

Data collection

With consumers more connected than ever before, they are also more aware of the realities of the data economy including the collection of their personal data. Nearly three-quarters of consumers (72%) agree that they are more aware of how their data is collected and used than a year ago. Connected devices are a way of life. So too is the exchange of personal data for free digital services.

It appears that over half of consumers (52%), agree that the value they derive from digital services overrides their privacy and security. It’s important to note, this study did not differentiate between the data collection of publishers compared to social platforms or between first-party or third-party in its line of questioning.

Vulnerability is key here. More than half of consumers (58%) are “very” or “extremely” concerned about the privacy of their smartphone data, and 59% feel similar about its security. Consumers are also concerned about the privacy and security of smart phone speakers (73%) and about the privacy of home automation devices (72%). Importantly, 90% of consumers report that they should be able to see and delete data that companies collect about them. Further, 84% state that they want to be paid by companies that profit from their data.

Data protection

Consumers see platform and online services that collect their data as “most responsible” for protecting it (35%). This is followed by consumers themselves (26%), and the government (15%). Nearly two-thirds of consumers (61%) report that platforms and online services are making it harder for them to understand how their data is being used. A full 56% also state that they have less trust in these companies than they did a year ago. Interestingly, most consumers (84%) agree that the government should do more to regulate the way companies can collect and use data.

Consumers clearly welcome better connectivity and improved service performances. However, this comes with heightened awareness and concerns over their data privacy. While they value the online services they use, consumers want more control and transparency on the data collection, usage and a share in its monetization.

Industry-Research

Publishers have reevaluated their platform relationships

December 10, 2019 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

As 2019 comes to an end, we see that publishers have reevaluated their relationship with technology platforms. According to the Tow Center for Digital Journalism’s new report, Platforms and Publishers: The End of an Era, news publishers no longer expect scale and ad-based platform products to earn significant revenue or bring audience growth. Publishers recognize that monetizing traffic from posting a news story on Facebook is not a sustainable business model. Tow’s year-long research included 42 interviews with individuals from 27 news organizations (representing national and local outlets, national and local digital natives, broadcast, audio, and magazine), six platform companies, and one foundation.

Selective partnerships

According to the Tow report, this new publisher sentiment is a complete departure from a year ago, when publishers were still hopeful about partnering with platforms to help sustain the news business. Today, publishers report that they are examining internal business strategies and the rise of reader revenue to further revenue diversification (e.g. live events and podcasts) to regain control of their audiences.

Publishers are thoroughly assessing which platforms fit their needs best and identifying the necessary requirements for the platforms to meet. Tow’s research identifies four key explanations as to why publishers are more selective today about platform partnerships. They:

No longer feel they are missing out if they choose not to partner with a platform
Have seen insignificant return on investment from previous platform partnerships and products
Better understanding of the extensive integration costs and expense of supporting third-party products
Have greater recognition of the conflicting business models between publishers and platforms

Little fanfare for new platform products

Publishers note that platforms are closely following subscription growth in the marketplace and now offer their own subscription products. Last year Apple announced and launched Apple News+, a magazine and news subscription service at $9.99 a month. In their deal with publishers, Apple takes 50% of the revenue and the remaining is left to be divided among participating publishers.

Google rolled out a product called Subscribe with Google (it takes in the range of 5 to 15 percent of the revenue); and Facebook launched a paywalled version of Instant Articles. However, unlike previous rollouts of similar offerings, these overtures received little fanfare from publishers.

Platforms investment in relationship

Further, publishers recall Google’s and Facebook’s “goodwill initiatives” to help build stronger relationships with news publishers with healthy skepticism. In January 2019, Facebook committed $300 million to local news projects. In March, they kicked off with their first local news summit as an effort to address newsroom operations. At the same time, Google announced its commitment to local news and started a boot camp for eight local subscription publishers.

Then in May, Facebook announced that it was bringing its Digital News Initiative stateside by funding projects to help generate revenue and increase audience engagement for local news. And, in September, Facebook awarded “Community Network” grants, to support initiatives that connect communities with local newsrooms. Even with these significant investments (in the range of $1.0 billion in total) publishers remain very skeptical about the platforms’ commitment to journalism.

Publishers reinforce the basics

Publishers think a lot about the future. Undoubtedly, the platforms and their role in the online information ecosystem cannot be ignored. As seen in the Tow report, publishers present their new awareness in pragmatic terms. They are regaining control of how they publish and how they bring in revenue. Importantly, while publishers are not abandoning the tech platforms, they are much more carefully evaluating platform products in terms of business models, audience growth, and the editorial relationship.

Industry-Research

Out of control: Consumers increasingly wary of data collection, use, and security

December 4, 2019 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

Consumers are increasingly concerned about their privacy and apprehensive about their activities being tracked. They are also very worried about the ways in which their data is being used and about its security. According to Pew Research Center’s new study, Americans and Privacy: Concerned, Confused and Feeling Lack of Control Over Their Personal Information, 81% of U.S. consumers say the potential risks of data collection by companies outweigh the benefits, and 66% say the same about government data collection. In fact, most Americans do not think it’s possible to go through daily life without having data collected about them by companies or the government (62% and 63%, respectively).

Out of control

Consumer concerns about digital privacy includes those who collect, store, and use their personal information. Nearly eight in 10 consumers are “not too” or “not at all” confident that companies will admit or take responsibility if personal information is compromised or misused. Further, 69% also report this same lack of confidence in the way companies use their personal information.

Most consumers in the US do not feel in control of their own personal data. Eight in 10 consumers report they have little or no control over what data that companies (81%) and the government (84%) collect about them. Consumers report seeing little benefit from all the data that companies (72%) and the government (76%) collect about them.

Privacy, please

Concerns about the right to privacy can be traced to the Constitution. In 1965, the Supreme Court ruled that the right to privacy can be inferred from the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth and 14th Amendments. The concept of privacy has evolved for consumers and now includes access to their digital footprint and all of their personal information. Pew finds that consumers specifically identify privacy as “other people and organizations not being able to access their possessions or private life” (28%) and “control over information, possessions, self; deciding what’s accessible to others” (26%). Many also feel the term “personal data” is interchangeable with “digital data.”

Data insecurity

Given the number of major data breaches in the last few years, (Marriott International, Yahoo!, Facebook, Equifax to name a few) it is no wonder that 70% of consumers report that their data is less secure today than it was five years ago.

Few consumers know what companies and the government are doing with the data collected on them. Further, most consumers lack the understanding of personal data tracking policies and restrictions.

Digital sites, especially premium sites with a direct consumer relationship, must find a way to clearly communicate their data tracking polices. Further, it’s important to clearly message data tracking policies with complete transparency on what data is being collected, what data is being used and how it’s being uses.

Industry-Research

Research confirms healthy consumer appetite for digital subscription products

November 19, 2019 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

A new research report, Connecting the Dots: Digital Subscriptions – Media Subscribers’ Motivations & Preferences, reinforces our findings earlier this year that the subscription marketplace is vibrant and growing. The News Media Alliance, Star Tribune, and the University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication research echoes the findings in our DCN Digital Subscription Economy report, which was released in September.

Both reports used online surveys to collect information on consumers’ willingness to pay and motivations for subscribing to news, entertainment, and sports content. DCN conducted its survey among a national sample of 1,000 U.S. adults while the News Media Alliance research sampled residents of Minnesota, with 497 respondents. Regardless of the sampling different methods, both studies produced similar findings in terms of consumer appetite for digital subscriptions in the marketplace.

Number of paid media subscriptions

The News Media Alliance analysis identified that the average household subscribes to on average almost four paid subscriptions across newspaper (print, online, or app), streaming music, streaming movies, streaming television, and magazine (online or app). More specifically, the average household pays for about 1.3 news subscriptions and approximately 2.5 entertainment subscriptions. The DCN Digital Subscription Economy research reports similar findings, on average, subscribers pay for 4.3 different digital media subscriptions.

Digital subscription spending

The News Media Alliance research reports that consumers are willing to spend, on average, $636 per year, or $53 per month. Almost exactly to the dollar, the DCN research found that digital consumers are willing to spend $54 per month on average or a total of $648 per year. Importantly, the News Media Alliance research also focuses on local news media. Readers of Star Tribune, the leading major newspaper within Minnesota, are willing to pay $70 per month, compared to subscribers overall.

Video subscriptions drive value

Connecting the Dots finds that spending on entertainment content is a key driver of subscription spending in general and has an important relationship with spending on other types of content. It’s no wonder, according to Brian Wieser, global president, business intelligence, GroupM, with Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon, NBC’s Peacock, and AT&T’s HBO Max could each average around $5 billion on content in the U.S. Interestingly, the News Media Alliance research shows that the more money that respondents spend on entertainment, the more likely they are to spend on national and local news.

DCN’s Digital Subscription Economy report also concludes that streaming subscription value is driven more by video streaming services than by live TV streaming, digital audio, or digital print subscriptions. In fact, when respondents were asked if they had to choose only one type of paid digital subscription to receive, 36% of replied video and 33% replied television. This was by at least a 2:1 margin compared to other digital media subscriptions services (i.e. Live TV, magazine, music/podcasting/radio, newspaper, print and sports). This value-topping source of entertainment is fueled, in part, by big-budget original productions with significant publicity. This drives “must have” status, Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). It is also increasingly impacted by bingeing behavior, which affects the finding that video streaming subscriptions (movies and television) lead in ultimate value.

Both studies show a robust and rapidly growing digital subscription marketplace. It doesn’t appear that consumers are anywhere near reaching a tipping point of “too much” spending or “too many” services. Importantly, both studies provide publishers with insight into the dimensions of consumer value to help inform their subscription strategies, offerings, and messaging.

Industry-Research | Revenue

The publishers’ guide to ecommerce

November 11, 2019 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

While advertising and subscription revenues are core to publishers’ bottom line, developing alternative revenue streams is critical in today’s competitive environment. One diversification approach, ecommerce, has evolved well beyond affiliate links and branded content. A new report from Whatsnewinpublishing.com, The Publisher’s Guide to eCommerce, written by Damien Radcliffe, explores emerging ecommerce opportunities and lessons learned from publishers. The report details 10 ecommerce examples from publishers. Some used third parties to implement their ecommerce initiative, while others are developing inhouse teams.

The right recipe

As the report points out, eCommerce is not easy work for a publisher. They need to be thoughtful in identifying the benefits of brand extensions and messaging this to the consumer. Importantly, product relevance and quality must exist to build customer loyalty for any brand extension.

Tasty, BuzzFeed’s food brand, provides a great example of a healthy brand extension that organically fits its brand with snack-size recipes and videos. It successfully broadens the brand’s reach beyond its core site and social media channels. Tasty products include cookbooks and kitchenware, and even a partnership with McCormick Spices.

The report suggests that publishers stick close to their wheelhouse. For example, there might be a lucrative business living within their articles and photographs archives. The Denver Post and the The Seattle Times lead strong ecommerce channels selling special events and news coverage clippings for memorabilia, wall art, and keepsakes. Third parties are often used for the fulfillment, creation and distribution of these products, which reduces some of the publishers’ risks.

Social shopping

Social commerce is another interesting avenue for publishers to keep in mind. GlobalWebIndex research finds that nearly 3 in 10 online consumers say that researching and finding products online is one of the main reasons they use social. These platforms offer an opportunity for publishers to reach new and wider audiences.

As such, media analysts thought that social platforms would provide an optimal environment for a publisher ecommerce marketplace. Unfortunately, it hasn’t panned out just yet. However, Snap appears to offer a strong potential for experimenting in ecommerce. The research emphasizes that it is critical that publishers working to offer purchase opportunities on social strive for a frictionless experience.

Regardless of the approach, the report reminds publishers not to underestimate the cost and complexity of running an ecommerce division. It’s like building a startup business: Technology investments will be required (acquisition and fulfillment software) as well as those for merchandise and warehousing.

Challenges and rewards

First-party insights are important for a successful ecommerce initiative. This is particularly critical in establishing a correlation between the content the user engages into the product searches and products the user buys. Creating this type of first- party relationship between content and product will allow publishers to offer predictive analytics.

There are a multitude of ecommerce ideas for publishers to experiment, from affiliate relationships to developing and selling proprietary products. Importantly, each ecommerce opportunity must be evaluated carefully to meet the necessary criteria to compliment the publisher’s brand. And publishers must recognize the level of investment required to undertake a successful ecommerce initiative.

Industry-Research | Revenue

Navigating nine consumer paths to digital subscriptions

November 4, 2019 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

People are motivated to subscribe to their news digitally for a variety of reasons. It’s a personal path that often takes time. Some people are driven by a topic of passion. Others subscribe to support journalism, yet others opt to subscribe because of a lifestyle change. In the Paths to Subscription Report, the Media Insight Project , an initiative of the American Press Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, identified nine distinct paths to subscriptions based on consumer motivations and conditions. This study surveyed 4,100 recent subscribers to 90 US local newspapers to understand their motives and mindsets at the time of the deciding to subscribe.

The nine paths to subscriptions:

1. Digital Paywall Converters

The majority of these subscriber groups (61%) buy a digital subscription because they hit a limit of free stories they can read online and wanted unlimited access. Demographically they tend to be younger, high-income, highly educated, male, and Democrats. This group is twice as likely to subscribe to large metro papers as other subscribers. Improving the user experience of the subscription sign-up page, especially a short frictionless experience, may help to increase conversions in this segment.

2. Topic Hunters

This segment is highly interested in one or two particular subjects, which helps drive them to subscribe in order to access this content. Topic Hunters are often so engaged in content of interest that when they hit the meter limit, they immediately opt to subscribe. They tend to be highly educated. Publishers may see a lift in conversions by promoting and messaging specific topics of interests like politics and sports with a direct call to action.

3. Locally Engaged

This group is interested in content about their community. They want to be locally informed. In fact, all Locally Engaged subscribers report accessing local news is important to their decision to subscribe. Similar to Topic Hunters, the Locally Engaged are interested in news alerts and email newsletters regarding local government, their neighborhood, and other local civic news.

4. Social Media-Mobile Discoverers

These subscribers engage with their newspaper and its journalists on social media and read the articles on mobile devices. Demographically this group is much younger than the others and tends to be slightly more female and more likely to identify as a Democrat. The Social Media-Mobile Discoverers are also likely to follow individual reporters on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Publishers can message these readers to like, follow, comment, and share articles to fully engage these subscribers.

5. Journalism Advocates

This group is motivated to subscribe because they want to support journalism. Nearly all Journalism Advocates report they value supporting news organizations and like that it keeps a check on political leaders. Demographically, this group is younger and more digital-focused than others and are also likely to identify as a Democrat. They are also more likely than other groups to live in urban areas and subscribe to large metro papers. Similar to the Digital Paywall Converters’ path to subscribing, this group values unlimited access to content.

6. Life Changers

This group decision to subscribe is due to a transition in their life. These subscribers may have just moved to the area, started a new job or encountered a change in their lifestyle allowing them more time or money to sign-up for a subscription. Importantly, publishers should target readers who are new to the geographic area, recent graduates, retirees, or someone with a new job or promotion.

7. Coupon Clippers

This group is driven to subscribe because they value coupons, “I subscribe to get coupons and ads…not the news” or “… coupons, but then I actually started reading it.” Publishers can engage this segment by promoting a newspaper’s coupon section. Digital coupons should also be tested for a positive user experience impact on subscriber conversion and engagement.

8. Print Fans

This segment, while they prefer print, now access their news subscription digitally as well. Print Fans tend to be female (56% vs. 46% of other subscribers) and more than half live in the suburbs. Publishers can promote the print edition to this segment but also attract them digitally by providing exclusive content of interest online.

9. Friends and Family

This group subscribes as part of the social circle in their lives. Often friends or family introduced them to a new publication. Friends and Family look for high-quality and interesting articles in their subscription package. A great way for publishers to engage and attract this group is through referral programs, where subscribers can refer friends or family in order to receive a discount or a free gift.

The Media Insight Project offers insight consumer motivates to sign up for a subscription. While subscribers value quality journalism there are also many other important drivers of subscriptions. Some factors sit in the background and take time for a person to act on, while others immediately trigger subscriptions. Publishers need to understand the segments of potential subscribers in detailed to maximize on opportunities for conversion

Industry-Research

Distribution, operations, and reporting key in newsroom transformation

October 28, 2019 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

Traditional news channels are transforming into hybrid newsrooms, combining digital platforms into an integrated business model according to The 2019 State of Technology in Global Newsrooms Report. In fact, half of the newsrooms in six of eight global regions are now hybrid. This research was conducted by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) in 149 countries, in 14 languages, and completed by more than 4,100 journalists and news managers.

Some of the ICFJ ‘s key findings include:

Newsrooms mix formats to distribute their content with social media as the dominant platform.

Content distribution increased with two-thirds of news organizations distributing content in at least four formats, compared to 40% that did in 2017.
In terms of social media tools, Facebook (90%) and Twitter (73%) lead the pack. They are followed by YouTube, which grew to 60% usage from 48% in 2017 and Instagram, now at 48%, which is up from 33% in 2017.
Instant messaging apps as content distribution channels have declined in seven out of eight regions over the last two years. Eurasia/former USSR, Europe and North America registered the largest declines, 20 percentage points, 16, and 10, respectively.

Security and new technologies are part of the day-to-day workflow.

More than two-thirds of journalists and newsrooms secure their communications while only half did in 2017. In fact, in North American newsrooms, the percentage of those that secure their communications doubled to 82%. The preferred method of security is encrypted messaging apps.
One-third of news organizations employ dedicated fact-checkers. In addition, 44% of newsrooms and 37% of journalists said they engage in more fact-checking activities than they did the previous year.
More than twice as many journalists use social media verification tools today compared to 2017.

Most news organizations aim to dismantle misinformation and work to build trust.

Seventy-five percent of managers worry about the impact of misinformation. However, less than half of journalists believe that it impacts their day-to-day work.
Almost half of newsrooms are better at separating news stories from opinion pieces.
More than three-quarters (37%) of news managers in North America report building trust as a major challenge, up from 29% two years ago.

Government and politics dominate news coverage.

Government and politics dominant news journalism with the exception of news radio. Radio is more likely to cover specialized beats. In fact, 42% of news radio covers education and 43% covers health compared to 27% of websites that cover these topics.
While nearly one-third of journalists do some investigative reporting, this group appears to be quite limited with only 12% identifying as investigative reporters.
Smaller newsrooms appear to offer a community focus news and are twice as likely to report on local news as larger outlets. Twenty percent of small newsrooms cover local and hyperlocal events, compared to 10% of larger newsrooms (26+ employees).

More women are leading in journalism.

Women hold half or more of newsroom management positions in four of the eight regions. On average, one-third of management jobs globally are held by women. However, female leadership varies greatly by region.
Leading with women in newsroom management are Eurasia/former USSR at 62%, North America at 56%, Europe at 51%, and Latin America/Caribbean at 49%.
Women comprise 56% of newsroom employees in North America and 51% in Europe.
On average, women are 40% of the journalists in newsrooms worldwide.
Interestingly, more women (25%) compared to men (15%) report not having digital experience at the time they were hired.

This ICFJ study offers insight into the transition of traditional news outlets to hybrid news outlets with digital platforms integrations. It identifies the newsroom journey to improve the quality of news reporting. Newsroom operations must now include the fight against disinformation, the promotion of trusted news brands, the addition of heightened security, and the usage of enhanced data analytics.

Industry-Research

Understanding how young people consume news: It’s personal

September 25, 2019 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

The role of news for Gen Z and Gen Y appears to be individualized, rather than characterized by broad generalizations, which is tricky business for news providers. According to new research from Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, How Young People Consume News and The Implications for Mainstream Media, adults aged 18-35 view the news from the perspective of what it can do for them as individuals, rather than for society as a whole. The study took a multi-faceted approach of tracking news consumption in conjunction with in-depth discussions groups among 20 young adults, in the UK and US.

News values

Reuters identified two specific themes reflecting the motivations and values of this cohort regarding their engagement with news and news brands:

Using news to progress your personal development:
- Status: Provides value and allows you to feel confident.
- Identity: Builds and communicate your identity. The news you engage with contributes to defining who you are, and your views.
- Learning: Allows you to better yourself, increasing your knowledge and success.
Consuming news to increases your enjoyment in the things you do:
- Connections: Eases your daily conversations with others,
- Entertainment: Provides fun and original moments.
- Passion: Helps fuel your passions and interests.

While Gen Z and Gen Y recognize the positive role news can play, its value does not necessarily translate into greater relevance for traditional news outlets. Unfortunately, today’s 18 to 35-year-olds are more distracted and less motivated to seek out news.

Consumer news segments

To build engagement with Gen Z and Gen Y, it’s essential for news publishers to understand content interaction in each moment, medium and for the individual. Reuters identified four consumer news segments to provide news publishers with insight and opportunities to generate content with the intent to build a meaningful relationship with those under-35.

Heritage News Consumers

These users consume a little of traditional news brands. However, this kind of consumption is very limited due to the lack of time available in their busy lives. Their user profile shows high access to news brands but low news consumption. Newer technologies, like podcasts and social media feeds, are more desirable and a fit better with their packed schedules. News publishers should think about how to make news easier to access by using innovative technology.

Dedicated News Devotees

This segment consumes news throughout the day but mostly on alternative and third-party platforms. Their user profile shows high access to news brands and high news consumption. This segment is the most engaged with news brand apps, the most dedicated to appointment news consumption and they believe in the value of news. Given this segments relationship with quality news, they are more likely to become subscribers. Publishers should think about unique benefits to target and promote to this demo.

Passive News Absorbers

Members of this segment are not interested in a relationship with news brands. They receive their news with little effort and take in information that surrounds them. Interestingly, they do feel the need to be informed but do not look to premium publishers for their news. Their profile shows low access to news brands (self-led) as well as low news consumption. Publishers should find ways to increase brand fame and name recognition with this cohort. In addition, allow for easy access to bold headlines, news summaries and short videos to attract Gen Z and Gen Y to quality news content.

Proactive News Lovers

This segment is committed to news consumption. While they know news brands, they prefer to curate across multiple sources than rely on a few specific branded ones. Proactive News Lovers often skim news content. Their profile shows low access to news brands (self-led) but high news consumption. Given this segments passion for curation, news publishers should seek to offer new technology to help them process a collection of news articles.

Building a future

Understanding Gen Z’s and Gen Y’s motivations and values in news consumption offers insight into how best to build their brand loyalty in news brands. News formats, native to mobile, may also help news brands reestablish their relevance with adults under 35 years old. Connecting to this audience, above all else, is critical to the survival of news publishers.

DCN-Research | Research

New DCN research explores consumer appetite and satisfaction for digital subscriptions

September 19, 2019 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

Digital Content Next (DCN) has released findings from its new research, DCN Digital Subscription Economy*, that indicate a healthy and rapidly-growing digital subscription marketplace. The DCN study surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers regarding the array of direct-to-consumer paid digital subscription offerings across numerous media sectors and genre.

On average, digital media subscribers are paying for more than four unique subscription services. And two-thirds of subscribers (64%) perceive high value in connection with their subscription(s). Consumer value is high no matter how much they spend, how many services they have or how much they earn.

The market is transitioning with several big-brand entrants like Disney+, Apple TV+ and HBO Max joining the booming marketplace. However, it doesn’t appear that consumers are anywhere near reaching a tipping point of “too much” spending or “too many” services.

Streaming subscription value is driven more by video streaming services than by live TV streaming, digital audio or digital print subscriptions. This is fueled, in part, by big-budget original productions, significant media publicity, “must have” status and consumer’s attraction to bingeing content.

Value also appears to be driven more by consumers enjoying the ability to choose from among a variety of streaming services than by desire to shed their cable service. For those who continue to subscribe to cable, their driving reason is that they’ve always had it and are “used to it.”

Subscription spending

A majority of digital media subscribers are not immediately sure how much they spend on their digital subscriptions each month. This is another indicator that they have not yet reached a sense of over-spending. When asked to think about and to calculate their monthly spend, their $54/month average expense suggests a willingness to add to their news and entertainment budget. In other words, pricing of many of the most popular digital streaming subscriptions – particularly video subscriptions – seems to be perceived as reasonable and affordable, at least for the time being.

Drivers of subscriptions

Across the board, subscribers of all digital media types (video, audio, print) prize their control(direct, personalized, anywhere/anytime access) above everything else. Propensity for show bingeing, a manifestation of control, also means consumers are frustrated when complete seasons of what they want to watch aren’t available. Content discovery appears to be a non-issue with just one-quarter of video streamers (28%) reporting difficulty with discovering video content worthwhile to view.

DCN will continue to track this dynamic and shifting marketplace of digital assets consumed à la carte to provide publishers with insight into the dimensions of consumer value and to help inform their subscription strategies, offerings and messaging.

* An abridged version of the findings from the DCN Digital Subscription Economy Study is accessible to the public. Please note the full 48-page DCN Digital Subscription Economy Study is only available to DCN members. If you are a DCN publisher member, please be sure to log in or register to access this special members-only research, which will appear below this notice once you have logged in.