‘Perils and Promises’ of Video, Condé Nast’s NewFronts Pitch, NYT Subscription Growth, CMS Consolidation at SourceMedia, Time Inc.’s Rejection of Acquisition Bids, How Publishers Are Using Snapchat, InDesign Tip: User Interface Changes

Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news, stories of interest, and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing posts about a roundtable exploring the opportunities and challenges of video, Condé Nast Entertainment’s NewFronts presentation, an impressive Q1 at the New York Times, how SourceMedia moved from 17 content management systems to just one, Time Inc.’s decision to stay the course, and more.

  • NewFronts imageAs NewFronts pitches to media planners and buyers kicked off, Adweek held a roundtable to explore the “perils and promises” of video—an increasingly important focus for publishers in terms of both storytelling and revenue. Executives agreed the biggest challenges are around measurement, viewability, and distribution, with Adweek pointing out that “some of those are so daunting that a return to television’s tried-and-true models…has been noted.” Still, according to panelist Rory Brown, president of Bleacher Reports, “Video is where you are going to build brand equity, you’re going to reach people, and you’re going to make money. It’s going to be the key component in a lot of content company businesses for the foreseeable future.”
  • At its NewFronts presentation, Condé Nast Entertainment showcased “high-end, trendy content” from publications including GQ, Glamour, Wired, and Vogue, Adweek said in a separate post. Announcing the return of 65 short-form digital series along with 40 new series in the coming year, CNE touted “every kind of content from docs, scripted, comedy, and how-to to celebrity.” All of the series are available on The Scene, CNE’s streaming video platform.
  • For all the talk about the “failing” New York Times, turns out in the past quarter it added more subscriptions than ever in its history and saw an overall 5% increase in revenue—driven in part by its Wirecutter/Sweethome affiliate acquisition. Nieman Lab gave a Q1 rundown of the numbers, noting while some of the newspaper’s subscription growth (308,000 net new digital) can be attributed to the so-called Trump bump, “improved customer reversion and retention” was also a top factor.
  • As a Digiday post details, B2B publisher SourceMedia realized a wide range of benefits when it consolidated the number of content management systems its properties use from—count ’em—17 to just one. The move not only improved content sharing and data collection, but also made it easier to target ads and standardize its ad inventory across brands: “With one CMS, article tags and topics match up across all of SourceMedia’s websites,” the article explains. Says Minna Rhee, chief product and audience officer at SourceMedia, “The real power is when you can leverage the CMS with other tools. It was important to put the platform in place so that we could more easily plug other things into it.”
  • And CNN reported Time Inc. is taking itself off the market after reviewing a number of acquisition offers that reportedly “fell short” of expectations, including a bid by Meredith Corp. Instead, the company will pursue a “standalone strategic plan,” which could mean cuts to its workforce and portfolio as it continues to struggle with the shift from print to digital, according to the report. As part of that plan, Time Inc. will focus on branded content and video as advertisers move more of their dollars to those areas, it said.

On the Technology for Publishing Blog


Visit our blog for highlights of interesting and noteworthy stories from the publishing world every Friday, and sign up for TFP’s This Week in Publishing newsletter. Think we missed something great? Let us know! Leave a comment below or drop us a note.

Posted by: Monica Sambataro

Monica Sambataro is a contributing editor and copyeditor for Technology for Publishing. Her publishing background includes work for leading technology- and business-related magazines and websites.