UK content producers to focus on data and audience profiling

The latest Association of Online Publishers (AOP) Content and Trends Census, published today, highlights current trends within UK publishing from a survey of its membership across newspaper and magazine publishing, TV and radio broadcasting and pure online media.

Now in its ninth year, the survey showed that 86% of the 37 respondents to the Census acknowledged that they were "under-utilising" their data assets. Members said they planned to review registration levels to access content and sites, in return for free access to some content.

While the survey showed that advertising continues to be the dominant revenue generator for publishers, they are continuing to embrace different revenue models, such as metered access, subscriptions, micropayments, freemium or a combined subscription package for online and offline content.

In particular, publishers expect to adopt freemium and micropayments more widely over the next year. The survey found that UK publishers are increasingly taking a "platform-agnostic" approach, with tablet apps and digital editions seen by 42% of them as the primary platforms for paid content.

This marks a shift from last year, when the annual survey showed that publishers saw their core site as the main opportunity for paid content.

UK publishers see the greatest revenue opportunity through mobile apps sponsorship, mobile ad formats on apps and mobile internet sponsorship.

Eight out of 10 publishers surveyed had invested in mobile sites and almost nine out of 10 had optimised their current sites for mobile. The survey found that three out of four publishers are publishing digital editions, and one in two are publishing via an eReader.

Tim Cain, head of research and insight at AOP, said the survey had "emphasised the growing importance of data to publishers".

However, he went on to warn: "As interest in data develops, the threat of regulation, via government and legal restrictions, and in particular the EU Privacy Directive, are seen to be the major threats the industry faces, with the only bigger threat being the economy.

"The biggest threat for publishers is how to keep the consumer informed of what cookies are used on websites in the most efficient and effective way, and maintaining a good user experience on websites, because users need to be advised and give consent over cookies use and this may be hard to achieve."

Cain also called for the "conflicting advice and guidance" coming from the Information Commissioner's Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport "to be ironed out".

This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk