88% of publishers expect they will not be able to achieve their business plans for the year due to the epidemic
Because of the Covid-19 epidemic, people began to read a lot more news, but publishers can’t monetize it: brands do not want to see their ads next to the news about the virus. Therefore, publishers gain views but lose money. Digiday interviewed 95 executive level publishers: 88% of them have already accepted that they will not be able to reach their business goals for the year due to the epidemic.
85% expect a drop in advertising revenue. 79% of surveyed publishers said they expect a decrease in revenue from public events due to an outbreak of coronavirus. Due to the ban on mass events, this source of revenue for publishers is almost destroyed.
Currently, only 38% of publishers expect layoffs.
Bloomberg, CNBC and The New York Times published an open letter to brands asking them to opt out of advertising filters for pages mentioning coronavirus, or at least make an exception for respected publications. Brands have not yet responded to this appeal.
The BBC News, on the contrary, have stopped with planned layoffs. In January 2020, BBC announced its intention to lay off 450 employees, but because of the epidemic, people will keep their jobs: the publication needs coverage of the coronavirus crisis.
