• by Ray Schultz , February 8, 2024

UK publishers are bullish about the year to come, ranking their confidence in facing new challenges as 7.1 out of 10, according to Digital Publishing: Outlook and Priorities for 2024, a study by the Association of Online Publishers.

Those same publishers list their business priorities as data privacy compliance and transparency, recruiting and retaining talent and ensuring a diverse workplace. All these issues were scored at 3.9. Generative AI policies were ranked as 3.5. 

The respondents expect subscriptions to provide the most potential growth over the next three years, reflecting a consistent pattern. 

However, B2C companies also rank audio, podcasts and internet radio among their top choices. For B2B publishers, the chief priorities are events, lead generation, subscriptions and sponsorship.

In the advertising area, direct deals took the largest for 78% of revenues, with private and open marketplaces tied at 11% each. And that should more or less hold over the next three years. 

Meanwhile, 70% agree or strongly agree that environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) is important to their employees, up from 67% last year. And 51% report it is key for their investors, up from 46%. 

Another 58% say the same thing about advertiser expectations regarding ESG, although this is flat from last year. And 62% say it is important to them as a company, down from 67%. 

On another front, 70% say their product team is exploring uses for generative AI. But only 55% report that their editorial teams are receiving training in the tool, while 26% have policies that prohibit its use. 

AOP surveyed 118 publishing stakeholders from December 5, 2023 to January 12, 2024. Of these, 84% were publishers and 16% organizations that provide tools to the publishing business.