David Elms, KPMG’s Head of Media comments ahead of the 125th anniversary of the Financial Times on Wednesday, February 13, 2013:
“The 125th anniversary of the FT highlights the profound effect the digital revolution has had on the newspaper business, however, the history of the FT also shows that newspaper publishers can rise to the challenge, successfully change business models and still keep their identity.
“In 2007 the FT was one of the first papers to introduce a ‘metered’ approach at the heart of its digital business model, which offers readers a certain number of articles for free before asking them to subscribe. That decision paid off; the FT’s paying digital audience has tripled since then and last year the number of digital subscribers, now more than 300,000, surpassed the print circulation of the paper for the first time.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the future of the newspaper industry is digital. Our own research shows that consuming content online is becoming more and more popular, helped by the rapid uptake of smartphones and tablets. And consumers are increasingly willing to pay for online content.
“For publishers there is a huge opportunity to distribute and exploit their content online. The switch to digital distribution models represents a fundamental structural change and for many traditional media companies that switch is a real challenge. But one thing is clear, newspaper businesses need to reengineer how they work and must embrace new and constantly evolving platforms, or risk failure.”
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Media Contact:
Katrin Boettger, Senior PR Manager
Tel: +44 207 896 4232 / 0782 4475168
Email: katrin.boettger@kpmg.co.uk
About KPMG:
KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and operates from 22 offices across the UK with over 12,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a turnover of £1.8 billion in the year ended September 2012. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. We operate in 156 countries and have 152,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. KPMG International provides no client services.
