"This week, the publisher of national U.K. titles Daily Mirror, Daily Express and Daily Star, is rolling out its first paid digital subscriptions - a big departure from the free, ad-funded model it's had throughout its 120-year history. It's the first in a string of changes planned within the publisher, which includes reshaping its newsroom more acutely around video production - all changes designed to safeguard its presence in the AI era, where referral traffic no longer helps pay the bills."
"In the last year, Reach's combined traffic across the Express in UK and US, Mirror UK, Daily Record, Daily Star UK, Irish Star and the Daily Star, have dropped by approximately 30 percent year over year in October - a drop of 51.6 million visits, leaving October's total visits on those sites at 123 million, according to Similarweb data. (Reach also owns OK! Magazine, Sunday People and dozens of regional sites not included in this data.)"
Reach is introducing paid digital subscriptions after operating on a free, ad-funded model for 120 years. The publisher is restructuring its newsroom with a stronger focus on video production to adapt to an AI-driven ecosystem where referral traffic has weakened. Combined traffic across several Reach titles fell about 30 percent year over year in October, a loss of 51.6 million visits and a total of 123 million visits, per Similarweb. Other publishers experienced similar declines amid Google search volatility and AI summary erosion. Reach's CEO warns that headline percentage drops can mask differing referral behaviors across Google products.
Read at Digiday
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