UK publisher The Guardian has posted a 2.5 percent revenue decline for 2023/24, citing “one of the most challenging advertising markets in recent memory.” The company has also announced it is in talks to sell the Observer, the Sunday newspaper owned by Guardian Media Group, to UK startup Tortoise Media.
The Scott Trust, Guardian Media Group’s sole shareholder, published its accounts on Tuesday, referencing “a difficult year for advertising” that brought to an end its four-year revenue growth streak. Ad revenues were down 13 percent, while print reader revenues fell 3 percent, reflecting “a market slowdown in advertising and sustained structural pressures on print.”
There were positives for the publisher however, with digital reader revenues up by 8 percent, and ongoing growth in international markets. More than half of the Guardian’s readership (56 percent) and digital revenues came from outside the UK last year, according to Guardian Media Group.
“An 8 percent growth in digital reader revenues is a significant achievement and proof that our strategy is working, against tough market conditions faced by the whole media industry,” said Anna Bateson, Chief Executive of Guardian Media Group. “Our readers across the world continue to demonstrate their love and support for our journalism, which is at the heart of a business that is open to all, funded by many and beholden to no one.”
International investment
The Guardian has diversified its revenues with a reader payment model, where readers can pay to susbcribe to the digital edition of the newspaper, or make voluntary contributions for online content. In April the company disclosed that more than half its funding comes directly from readers, with one-quarter generated from advertising.
At the same time, the publisher is continuing its expansion into international markets. Last year the company launched its Guardian Europe edition, and announced further investment in the Guardian US, funding a new editorial investigation unit, as well as football and wellness sections. Guardian Australia also marked its tenth anniversary, the company said.
The publisher is additionally upping its investments in technology and digital products, including the Guardian Feast cooking app, which has reportedly reached 100,000 downloads since launching in April 2024. Across all the publisher’s revenue types, 70 percent are now digital and 35 percent international.
“Overall the long-term strategy is working, building a global digital supporter base and readership against a backdrop of a rapidly changing external landscape,” said Charles Gurassa, Chair of Guardian Media Group.
Observing media trends
Alongside the economic pressures facing media companies, the Scott Trust highlighted the threat posed by generative AI to digital journalism and wider society. “The rapid development and deployment of artificial intelligence tools threaten to undermine trust through the spread of misinformation and disinformation,” said Ole Jacob Sunde, Chair of the Scott Trust.
Guardian Media Group therefore called generative AI “an important area of focus” for the publisher, exploring how the tools can assist with business operations. And in the face of AI companies scraping and surfacing publisher content in their search and chat products, the Guardian aims to “ensure appropriate financial recompense for the exploitation of intellectual property in the training of large language models.”
Meanwhile the publisher framed the potential Observer sale as an opportunity for “significant investment” in the title, helping to safeguard its future as a standalone product. Tortoise Media, the potential buyer, said it planned to invest more than £25 million in the Observer over the next five years. It will continue to publish the Observer on a Sunday and build out the digital product, according to the companies, combining the newspaper with Tortoise’s podcasts, newsletters and live events.
“We think the Observer is one of the greatest names in news,” said James Harding, Founder and Editor of Tortoise. “We believe passionately in its future – both in print and digital. We will honour the values and standards set under the Guardian’s great stewardship and uphold the Observer’s uncompromising commitment to editorial independence, evidence-based reporting and journalistic integrity.”
