Assessing the sustainability of the UK press sector

In 2021, Economic Insight was commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to assess the challenges that the UK press sector faces from the increased shift to online media, with both circulation and revenues falling over recent years.

We used a mixed method research approach, including:

• A desk-based review of relevant literature and previous analyses, including information from the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) database, as well as the Joint Industry Currency for Regional Media Research (JICREG) database.
• A financial analysis of national and regional/local publishers, based on their annual reports (as filed with Companies House)
• An online survey of publishers during March 2021, to obtain more detailed information than is available in company reports (for example, to help us understand specific trends in revenues and costs

We have found a clear pattern of declining sustainability in the press sector since 2010, which is consistent with reduced income and costs, as well as a reduction of investment and, relatedly, capital employed in the sector.

Our research also suggests that (at present at least) the shift towards digitisation may not be sufficient to offset the decline in more traditional areas.  However, it might still be the case that digital models are commercially viable in their own right – the implication being that legacy models may largely disappear.  Notwithstanding this, print newspapers will always play an important role in reaching the digitally excluded and the less digitally confident.  We also find that the regional press sector is generally less resilient than the national one, especially in relation to pension liabilities and how to service these.

Our work will be used to inform the government’s press sustainability policy and the design of any future interventions to support the sector.  Our report has now been published on the DCMS website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-the-uk-press-sectors-financial-sustainability