MediaFinance: Time Out will grow digital revenues in 2009, says founder
Magazine group has diversified online revenue streams, Tony Elliott tells conference
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Time Out is expecting a 16-20 per cent growth in online revenues in 2009, its CEO said today.
Speaking to delegates at the MediaFinance 2009 conference , Tony Elliott said online revenues for the magazine group had increased by 55 per cent year-on-year in 2008.
The sites, which as a group attract 4.5 million unique users a month and generate 23 million page views, benefit from a strong brand identity and a committed audience, he said.
In addition, some success has been found away from the traditional display advertising model with revenue generated by transactions, such as links to ticket sales.
"We have to be part of the chain, but we are content people. We do make a meaningful amount of money from transactions," said Elliott.
"We feel very confident about that in the long term. It's a natural by-product of what we do, which is information."
The group has previously discussed plans to launch a standalone website for Manchester, as reported by the Times last month , which would also involve a different revenue base, he added.
"We'd secure support from a number of sponsors to be the principle backers, so what they would pay wouldn’t traditionally be related to numbers - it would be related to being the significant entity," he explained.
Elliott said he was opposed to the concept of paid-for models for online publishers, and suggested that readers will seek alternatives at the point of paying.
Time Out London has experimented with subscription-based website for film and eating-out guides, but paying users did not grow beyond around 7,000.
When the film site was made free, however, subscriptions rose to 750,000, Elliott said.
Despite this Elliott said he could see the magazine charging for access to specific sub-sections of the website, such as dance coverage.
"We haven't reached the point yet where people are buying quality audiences. I would love everybody to pay for content (…) [But] the genie has gone," he said.
More reports from MediaFinance 2009 to follow - including thoughts on the future of local media and where industry analysts see room for investment.
Written by
Laura Oliver is a freelance journalist, a contributor to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, co-founder of The Society of Freelance Journalists and the former editor of Journalism.co.uk (prior to it becoming JournalismUK)
