The UK’s biggest regional publisher Reach is planning to introduce subscription charges as part of a revenue diversification drive, blaming the BBC for its falling revenues.
Reach, the publisher of the Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Echo, as well as nationals the Mirror, Express and Daily Star and dozens more regional news titles, reported revenue down 3.4% year-on-year to £256m in the six months to 30 June.
Print was down 4.8% to £194.1m while digital was up 1.8% to £61.1 in the latest results, the first to be published under new chief executive Piers North, previously chief revenue officer, following the departure of Jim Mullen in March.
Under North, Reach has set out three priorities for growth: revenue diversification, accelerating its use of tech and AI, and connecting with audiences via deeper engagement.
North told investors: “Notably the adoption in the UK has stayed at around 10%, lower than what we’ve seen in other Western countries, in large part due to the impact of the BBC on the market,” citing Reuters Institute data that showed the UK was behind the US and Ireland, where 20% pay for online news, and an average across 20 richer countries of 18%.
“But up to 10% of the market is absolutely worth playing for, and we’re in a good space to do more here now,” he added.
North noted that in the coming months Reach will “begin to more seriously develop our paid services offering” across the portfolio, with a pilot this year and a wider rollout in 2026.
He added: “I see this as an important addition to our business model but we will continue to be primarily ad-funded for the foreseeable.
“And we remain committed to providing free news in the main, which I still think is right for us, right for our advertisers and right for large swathes of our audience and our role in society.
“However, for the right kind of content and products, I believe that now is the time to revisit this option.”
North did not specify whether signing up and paying would bring a halt to the interminable ads and pop-ups that make most of Reach’s websites unreadable anyway.
