Report: Digital Publishing Revenues Up By A Third In Q1

Digital publishing revenues in the UK increased to £152 million in Q1 2021, up by 31.9 per cent in comparison to Q1 2020, according to a new report.

During Q1 2021, display advertising held its place as the largest category by revenue for digital publishers; with income reaching £53.6 million, an increase of 4.7 per cent against Q1 2020.

Revenue from subscriptions also contributed positively, growing by 48.8 per cent compared to Q1 2020, according to the latest quarterly Digital Publishers’ Revenue Index from the Association of Online Publishers and Deloitte.

Both B2B and B2C publishers saw double-digit growth in digital revenues in Q1 2021. B2C publisher revenues grew by 34.2 per cent, relative to Q1 2020, from £104.3 million to £139.2 million, fuelled by large increases in subscriptions (64 per cent). B2B revenue increased by 11.1 per cent, relative to Q1 2020, driven by increases in subscriptions (4.7 per cent) and display advertising (18.7 per cent).

On a 12-month rolling basis ending March 2021, total digital revenue increased by 9.5 per cent to £517.4 million, driven by substantial growth in subscriptions which increased to £123.1 million over the same period. Overall revenues across both B2B and B2C publishers increased, growing one per cent and 10.5 per cent respectively on a 12-month rolling basis.

Categories that did not perform as well in the 12-months ending March 2021 included recruitment, sponsorship, and online video income, which were down by 46.9 per cent, 17.2 per cent and 23.1 per cent respectively since March 2020.