More experimentation needed for newspaper survival: PwC

The study indicated that in the face of plummeting revenues, the majority of major newspaper publishers have failed to develop an online model that justifies consumer investment equal to that in print.

Marcel Fenez (pictured), global managing partner of PwC’s entertainment and media practice, noted that the sudden disappearance of advertising markets that had been “quite robust” over the past two years meant that “cracks are becoming more visible” in the newspaper industry globally.

“The challenge is to identify a product that people will actually consume,” Fenez said. “Dissecting the existing product lies at the centre. I think there is an appreciation of what the problem is, but we haven’t seen enough experimentation.”

Recommendations for a successful ‘21st century newspaper’ included increased flexibility online to cater to niche markets and distribute content across multiple platforms; investment in CRM and content management systems to enable more effective targeting; a revised approach to marketing sales to capitalise on the opportunities offered by multiple market channels; and greater tailoring of content on a local level.

Stating that the plight of the newspaper industry in Asia-Pacific was no different to that in western markets, Fenez said that it was up to publishers to decide whether printed content should be a paid, premium, niche product or mass appeal, ad-funded product.

He added that collaboration between publishers would potentially become widespread as a cost-saving measure. “It is likely and can happen in different ways. You don’t have to own everything.”