The decline continues

IRE60 · 13-09-2017 1:00pm

That's really interesting.
Staff costs : the remaining must have taken a hair cut (unless they go rid of someone taking 300k!)
Lower sales - smaller distribution thus costs
Cost of sales (N/S included I wonder) the rest would be retailers cut - down naturally.
Not too much by way of cash in the bank.
N&S paid for content, Is that a new line item or has that been happening prior to this?
Two large in dividends - is that the shaking of the pot to get the last bit out!

JTMan · 13-09-2017 1:19pm

IRE60 wrote: »

Cost of sales (N/S included I wonder) the rest would be retailers cut - down naturally.

The 0.4m for N&S would be included in cost of sales.

What do you mean by "retailers cut"? The money retailers make would not be included in the IS accounts. The IS accounts would also show revenue that IS earned. IS do not pay retailers, the retailers take their cut from sales. That's my understanding.

IRE60 wrote: »

N&S paid for content, Is that a new line item or has that been happening prior to this?

It is a new line item in the accounts. However, the cost is not new. It is just broken out for the first time. The 2015 comparable figure was also 0.4 million.

IRE60 · 13-09-2017 1:27pm

JTMan wrote: »

What do you mean by "retailers cut"? The money retailers make would not be included in the IS accounts. The IS accounts would also show revenue that IS earned. IS do not pay retailers, the retailers take their cut from sales. That's my understanding.

Sorry - you are correct! Retailers would be liable to N/S

L1011 · 14-09-2017 12:45pm

I would see the out for when it ceases to be profitable (or profitable enough, or requires investment to keep going) in a merger of sorts with the Herald/World - stop printing the Star, move any remaining 'star columnists' to the Herald and also the celeb guff they buy off N&S.

JTMan · 23-09-2017 1:57pm

Another regional has gone to the wall. The firm behind the Galway Independent newspaper has gone into liquidation. More here.

JTMan · 24-09-2017 7:28am

INM have shut down the Sunday World website. More here.

Clearly a cost cutting move. Costs probably way exceeded revenue for the Sunday World website.

Loafing Oaf · 24-09-2017 1:35pm

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

Are the tabloids making any headway in monetising their online offerings I wonder.

I guess this answers my question...

JTMan wrote: »

INM have shut down the Sunday World website. More here.

Clearly a cost cutting move. Costs probably way exceeded revenue for the Sunday World website.

JTMan · 24-09-2017 2:04pm

Are the tabloids making any headway in monetising their online offerings I wonder.

In Ireland, both the regionals and the tabloids are not have any success with monetising their online offerings.

- Irish Daily Star has no website.
- Sunday World has no website.
- Irish Sun website is largely a feed from their UK website.
- Irish Mirror website has not made any traction.
- Joe.ie, The Daily Mail Online etc are filling the online tabloid news need.

Loafing Oaf · 24-09-2017 3:24pm

JTMan wrote: »

In Ireland, both the regionals and the tabloids are not have any success with monetising their online offerings.

I remember reading a few years ago that my local The Western People had 19 online subscribers.

I once read an article by some media commentator advising regonal papers on the way forward. One of his recommendations was not to bother with online at all...

CeilingFly · 25-09-2017 9:10am

JTMan wrote: »

INM have shut down the Sunday World website. More here.

Clearly a cost cutting move. Costs probably way exceeded revenue for the Sunday World website.

And within a couple of days the indo.ie site has become as bad as or even worsae than the daily muck.

It used to only have a couple of top stpories as some hysterical sensationalist sh1te, but now it seems the majorty of stories are now hysterical sensationalist dung.

I'd say the Irish Times are loving it - and gaining new paid up subscribers (including moi) because the inod site has become a trashy click bait site for the affected "whining" types and those would will belive any and all sensationailst rubbish spouted by third rate writers (note, I do not consider the majority of indo trash writers "journalists".

expectationlost · 25-09-2017 11:10am

JTMan wrote: »

In Ireland, both the regionals and the tabloids are not have any success with monetising their online offerings.

- Irish Daily Star has no website.
- Sunday World has no website.
- Irish Sun website is largely a feed from their UK website.
- Irish Mirror website has not made any traction.
- Joe.ie, The Daily Mail Online etc are filling the online tabloid news need.

is buzz.ie using stuff from the star

and dublin live is the mirror? there are others? oh here we go http://www.presscouncil.ie/member-publications/web-based-publications
evoke the (fe)mail
extra the mail

JTMan · 25-09-2017 12:24pm

expectationlost wrote: »

is buzz.ie using stuff from the star

and dublin live is the mirror? there are others? oh here we go http://www.presscouncil.ie/member-publications/web-based-publications

- Buzz.ie is using materials from The Irish Daily Star.
- Breakingnews.ie is using materials from The Irish Examiner.

Neither are really "online only" per se.

JTMan · 25-09-2017 7:35pm

INM seeks more staff redundancies

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/inm-seeks-more-staff-redundancies-1.3233467?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fmedia-and-marketing%2Finm-seeks-more-staff-redundancies-1.3233467

Independent News & Media is believed to be opening up a voluntary redundancy scheme for editorial and commercial staff.
INM declined to comment on Monday, but it is understood the scheme will offer staff about two weeks pay per year of service on top of their statutory entitlement of two weeks per year plus one additional week.

IRE60 · 26-09-2017 12:13pm

There’s a lot of activity in the market – but not a positive sentiment to any of it.
I’m perplexed with the master plan for IN&M and it’s digital strategy. The closing of the SW site seems like a retrograde step as there was some unique content therein. The Daily Star site was closed without any fanfare and closing sites seems like a strange one given the direction of the market.
Redundancies – unfortunately to be expected really.
I heard whispers that the Irish Times/Examiner deal is concluded (or within an asses roar of it)

JTMan · 26-09-2017 12:32pm

Yeah, the Sunday Business Post said that the acquisition of the Irish Examiner by the Irish Times is a few weeks away. Thereafter, Iconic Newspapers will acquire some / all of the Landmark Media Investments regionals and Murdoch's Wireless Group might get the radio assets.

I think the INM masterplan is to cut costs to the bone at Sunday World, Irish Daily Star and the Herald in the hope of keeping the assets going for as long as possible.

L1011 · 26-09-2017 3:07pm

JTMan wrote: »

Yeah, the Sunday Business Post said that the acquisition of the Irish Examiner by the Irish Times is a few weeks away. Thereafter, Iconic Newspapers will acquire some / all of the Landmark Media Investments regionals and Murdoch's Wireless Group might get the radio assets.

I think the INM masterplan is to cut costs to the bone at Sunday World, Irish Daily Star and the Herald in the hope of keeping the assets going for as long as possible.

BAI will find it exceptionally hard to approve Wireless buying the entire radio assets as it would include a non-controlling but hefty share in RedFM; when the other two local stations in the area are already owned by Wireless.

JTMan · 26-09-2017 3:11pm

L1011 wrote: »

JTMan wrote: »

Yeah, the Sunday Business Post said that the acquisition of the Irish Examiner by the Irish Times is a few weeks away. Thereafter, Iconic Newspapers will acquire some / all of the Landmark Media Investments regionals and Murdoch's Wireless Group might get the radio assets.

I think the INM masterplan is to cut costs to the bone at Sunday World, Irish Daily Star and the Herald in the hope of keeping the assets going for as long as possible.

BAI will find it exceptionally hard to approve Wireless buying the entire radio assets as it would include a non-controlling but hefty share in RedFM; when the other two local stations in the area are already owned by Wireless.

Wireless Group are interested in Beat 102-103 and WLR FM according to reports. It seems that they are not interested in the 17% stake that Landmark Media Investments hold in Red FM.

JTMan · 27-09-2017 6:41am

The Sunday Business Post has been put up for sale by Sunrise Media. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/sunday-business-post-put-up-for-sale-by-key-capital-1.3235019?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fmedia-and-marketing%2Fsunday-business-post-put-up-for-sale-by-key-capital-1.3235019

I wonder who will purchase it? More consolidation?

Loafing Oaf · 27-09-2017 7:32pm

JTMan wrote: »

The Sunday Business Post has been put up for sale by Sunrise Media. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/sunday-business-post-put-up-for-sale-by-key-capital-1.3235019?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fmedia-and-marketing%2Fsunday-business-post-put-up-for-sale-by-key-capital-1.3235019

I wonder who will purchase it? More consolidation?

You'd think it would make more business sense for the IT to buy the SBP than the Examiner but does anything in the newspaper world make business sense tjese days?

JTMan · 27-09-2017 8:00pm

The IT want to acquire The Irish Examiner for protect distribution and printing income as well as to aid consolidation and gain economies of scale. If the Irish Examiner goes elsewhere, then the IT contract to publish and distribute The Irish Examiner might go too.

The SBP is barely profitable, has low distribution and is expensive to make.

Muahahaha · 27-09-2017 8:42pm

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

I remember reading a few years ago that my local The Western People had 19 online subscribers.

I once read an article by some media commentator advising regonal papers on the way forward. One of his recommendations was not to bother with online at all...

He might have had a point. But the flip side of that is by not doing online the local paper leaves a vacuum and some upstart comes in and fills it so well that people get their local news online only. I dont have any numbers but have heard that the website donegaldaily.ie is hugely popular in that county and even older people are logging in to get their daily local gossip. It has to have an effect on the local papers like the Donegal Democrat and whatever else is on sale there.

IRE60 · 28-09-2017 5:27pm

Yea, the SBP is on the market. I think that a few years back Key Capital thought the dynamic was like any other business and once they got in the door, during a declining market they wanted out.

The 'online' part of their term was a complete cluster fcuk. You couldn't have messed it up so badly if you tried.

Never levered on their brand at all - look at other business publications - their online archive (enough on that) and their 'real world' activities - conferences, lectures, events etc....

I wonder will previous incumbent, Mr P. Cooke, take a peek under the covers of the SBP!

I wonder if the IT had the choice The Examiner or SBP - or did they?

Regional's: Jesus at one point they printed cash! And at one point they were the thing to own locally.... and then came the tiger!

I've always maintained that if they, collectively, got their sh1t together they could be sitting on a fortune in unique content.

CeilingFly · 28-09-2017 6:18pm

Examiner, IT & SBP as an overall online package would be quite compelling.

IT is obviously Dublin centric with national emphasis, Examiner is Cork / Munster centric and SBP is very strong on business - a lot of economies of scale and a compelling overall online package as a single stable for non-sensationalist news

IRE60 · 28-09-2017 7:33pm

Good point - Mick Clifford could add a decent analytical (although on one main area) dimension to the SBP/Times.

But, in every acquisition, there a few heads on the plate.

JTMan · 05-10-2017 6:27pm

Dublin Gazette is to cut the number of titles from 7 to 1 by merging titles ...

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/dublin-gazette-to-cut-back-number-of-titles-it-publishes-1.3245492

IRE60 · 12-10-2017 6:02pm

Robert Pitt, CEO of IN&M is leaving his post tomorrow.

expectationlost · 26-10-2017 12:44pm

this is the Irish Examiner website no wonder people try to use adblockers, 2 autoplaying videos, wraparound ad and more ads

lazy irish examiner ads people can do better with their ads, my computer can't cope, with all this junk, I go to the site less and less.

is inline images turned off in this forum?

IRE60 · 29-10-2017 4:02pm

I normally manage to avoid the Sunday Independent - but failed today. However there's a bit on P1 of the business where the new CEO says that they have been in talks with Sunrise and are looking at the Sunday Business Post (plus Webprint)

JTMan · 29-10-2017 4:35pm

IRE60 wrote: »

I normally manage to avoid the Sunday Independent - but failed today. However there's a bit on P1 of the business where the new CEO says that they have been in talks with Sunrise and are looking at the Sunday Business Post (plus Webprint)

We will see what the competition authority makes of any acquisition attempt.

The article also says that INM are looking at Landmark Media Investments, when most evidence points toward the Irish Time Trust acquiring all / some of Landmark.

IRE60 · 29-10-2017 6:27pm

JTMan wrote: »

We will see what the competition authority makes of any acquisition attempt.

The article also says that INM are looking at Landmark Media Investments, when most evidence points toward the Irish Time Trust acquiring all / some of Landmark.

It would increase their share of the Sundays from 53% to about 58% - wounder would that be the tipping point?
Interesting about landmark - I was of the opinion that the IT was a done deal - maybe Doorley is just shaking the bushes

CeilingFly · 09-11-2017 11:20pm

Oh boy. Indo drops further

Tonight's online headline - they found a comment on someone's Facebook page about a little scuffle on grafton st. and make it headline news.

I doubt that even the daily muck would not go to those depths.

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/he-tried-to-choke-me-with-my-scarf-woman-attacked-in-broad-daylight-on-grafton-street-36304715.html

And indo wonders why its losing readers?

IRE60 · 10-11-2017 11:35am

CeilingFly wrote: »

Oh boy. Indo drops further

Tonight's online headline - they found a comment on someone's Facebook page about a little scuffle on grafton st. and make it headline news.

I doubt that even the daily muck would not go to those depths.

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/he-tried-to-choke-me-with-my-scarf-woman-attacked-in-broad-daylight-on-grafton-street-36304715.html

And indo wonders why its losing readers?

And Indo wonders why it posted a second profit warning yesterday!

IRE60 · 19-11-2017 6:49pm

The Sunday Times must have got one of The Sun subs on the desk this week - pun laden headlines 'Cork farmer accused of milking investors' etc - witty perhaps - possibly not in that platform

An Ciarraioch · 19-11-2017 8:00pm

Be careful what you wish for - according to Britain Elects, 24% of people surveyed in the UK (and would imagine the stats would be similar here) get their news from Facebook, but only 11% trust it! Perhaps social media networks should voluntarily subscribe to press regulation codes, for the same vetting as their print and broadcast counterparts?

https://mobile.twitter.com/britainelects/status/932311673335054336

IRE60 · 19-11-2017 9:16pm

An Ciarraioch wrote: »

Be careful what you wish for - according to Britain Elects, 24% of people surveyed in the UK (and would imagine the stats would be similar here) get their news from Facebook, but only 11% trust it! Perhaps social media networks should voluntarily subscribe to press regulation codes, for the same vetting as their print and broadcast counterparts?

https://mobile.twitter.com/britainelects/status/932311673335054336

There was a great speech last week from the CEO of the Financial Times urging social media companies not to fool themselves into thinking they were not media companies, step one in regulations!

Loafing Oaf · 19-11-2017 9:27pm

Brian Carey suggesting in today's ST that the IT may be getting cold feet about the Landmark deal:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/indo-pitch-is-a-false-dawn-for-print-titles-tgzf3mclz

The Irish Times has cash and listed investments of just over €20m, more than enough to buy Landmark. It is not flush enough, however, to support Landmark indefinitely. Small wonder the deal has moved so slowly. This is a big step for a traditionally conservative company.

IRE60 · 20-11-2017 3:17pm

The article makes a very good point - an extra print plant - a dept laden one at that - is as useful to the Irish Times as tits on a bull.

At this point we have we over the capacity needed to print newspapers in this country. If Webprint closed tomorrow the remaining titles being currently being printed there would easily find a slot on another press.

IRE60 · 30-11-2017 8:02pm

Not a bad increase:

"Parent company DMGT revealed this morning that the world’s most popular newspaper website made revenue of £119m in 2017, up from £93m in 2016, for the full year to 30 September 2017"

"a £26 million increase in Mail Online’s revenues exceeding a £19 million decline in print advertising"

In the Press Gazette

expectationlost · 01-12-2017 1:06am

IRE60 wrote: »

Not a bad increase:

"Parent company DMGT revealed this morning that the world’s most popular newspaper website made revenue of £119m in 2017, up from £93m in 2016, for the full year to 30 September 2017"

"a £26 million increase in Mail Online’s revenues exceeding a £19 million decline in print advertising"

In the Press Gazette

the daily mail's profits are up and yes as you say the decline continues

L1011 · 06-12-2017 4:17pm

So the Times buys Landmark Media after all. Wonder will the SBP be next or not now.

Loafing Oaf · 06-12-2017 4:19pm

L1011 wrote: »

So the Times buys Landmark Media after all. Wonder will the SBP be next or not now.

Was going to start a new thread about this but there's no solid reason yet for thinking this deal is not part of the broader 'decline' story...

IRE60 · 06-12-2017 6:00pm

the article in The Times is a little vague - did all the assets of landmark (inc the radio business) go to The Times?

Now the Sunrise have a Sunday paper, a print-plant and an empty dance card!

Losty Dublin · 06-12-2017 6:24pm

IRE60 wrote: »

the article in The Times is a little vague - did all the assets of landmark (inc the radio business) go to The Times?

Now the Sunrise have a Sunday paper, a print-plant and an empty dance card!

The radio stations are included in the sale.

IRE60 · 06-12-2017 6:27pm

Losty Dublin wrote: »

The radio stations are included in the sale.

Interesting move then, bit of leverage over the regional and radio newsrooms

L1011 · 06-12-2017 7:16pm

Radio will be shifted I think, last time the IT had involvement (4FM's original, Radio Ireland mkII launch) turned sour fast.

Murdoch is on the acquisition trail for further Irish stations and they fit in very nicely with the existing network.

JTMan · 06-12-2017 7:53pm

IRE60 wrote: »

did all the assets of landmark (inc the radio business) go to The Times?

All, no. Forestry assets were excluded. All newspaper, website and radio assets included. Seems bizarre that the Irish Times would want radio assets.

Loafing Oaf · 06-12-2017 9:15pm

What do we think will happen with regional papers? More cutbacks I suppose...

JTMan · 06-12-2017 9:18pm

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

What do we think will happen with regional papers? More cutbacks I suppose...

It will take 6 months to close the deal, then possibly an onward sale to a regional publisher such as Iconic.

IRE60 · 10-12-2017 5:18pm

JTMan wrote: »

Seems bizarre that the Irish Times would want radio assets.

...it's one part of the media industry that isn't fcuked!

jca · 10-12-2017 5:35pm

IRE60 wrote: »

...it's one part of the media industry that isn't fcuked!

Yet...

The decline continues

Comments