James Warrington
Fri, 23 June 2023
Lord Lebedev part-owns The Independent - JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP
The Independent has blamed changes to Facebook’s news feed for a drop in readership as it reported a sharp fall in profits.
The Left-leaning title, which is part-owned by Lord Lebedev, suffered a 6pc fall in global page views last year.
In its latest accounts, the Independent said Facebook’s decision last summer to de-prioritise posts from publishers had a “detrimental impact on article views”.
It also blamed the declining audience on a slower US news cycle after attracting more readers the previous year thanks to coverage of Donald Trump, the US election, the Capital riots and Black Lives Matter.
In the UK, monthly article views dropped by 4.4pc owing to declining interest in topics such as Covid, Brexit and Boris Johnson. This was partially offset by the Russia-Ukraine war, Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilee and her death.
The Independent shut down its print edition in 2016 and shifted to an online and app-only model. Its pre-tax profits tumbled by two thirds from £5.5m to just £1.9m in the year to October 2022.
Bosses blamed this on higher investment in its international expansion, as well as its reporting and documentary production from Ukraine.
However, revenues rose 12pc to a record £46.3m, marking the sixth year of profitable growth since the newspaper went digital-only.
Despite the fall in page views, the digital title also hit the milestone of five million registered readers.
The Independent, which appointed former Daily Mail editor Geordie Greig as its editor-in-chief in January, is pursuing an aggressive international expansion plan, particularly in the US.
It is also looking to expand in areas such as TV, radio and e-commerce in an effort to diversify its revenues.
John Paton, chairman of Independent Digital News Media, said:
“We regard Facebook as an important distribution channel for our journalism, but we also see the importance on diversifying our revenue streams.
“This is the sixth consecutive year of profit, and we have achieved record revenue with 12pc growth as a result of our focus on investing deeper in the areas of international expansion, eCommerce and TV.”
The title has faced a tougher time since the end of its financial year as the digital advertising market went into decline.
While its editorial team in the US has expanded, the company cut around 30 roles in the UK at the end of last year.
The Independent was sold to the Lebedev family in 2010, initially owned by Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev before ownership was transferred to his son, Lord Lebedev.
The newspaper has also faced scrutiny over its links to Saudi Arabia after it sold a 30pc stake to offshore companies fronted by a Saudi businessman in 2018.
Justin Byam Shaw, a British media entrepreneur, also holds a significant stake in the business, with the remainder made up by minor shareholders.
No comments:
Post a Comment