Digital publishers’ total revenues grew 5.1% year-on-year in 2025 as growth in subscription and sponsorships outstripped declines in advertising for some publishers.
That is according to the latest Digital Publishers’ Revenue Index Report, conducted by the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) and consultancy Deloitte. The report is based on an anonymised survey of 13 British digital publishers, comprising nine unnamed B2C publishers and four unnamed B2B publishers.
Q4 2025 marked the fourth consecutive quarter that total digital publishing revenues increased in aggregate (+3.9%), “a genuine landmark for the sector,” according to AOP managing director Richard Reeves.
However, the report notes that the distribution of growth is “uneven”. In the fourth quarter, one-third of respondents (31%) reported year-on-year growth of more than 25%. In contrast, a majority (54%) suffered overall revenue declines.
Subscription revenue grew 24% in Q4 to £60.6m and 17% year-on-year for fiscal year 2025. However, display advertising revenues, which declined 0.27% in Q4 to £63.4m, still make up the plurality of digital publisher revenues.
The figures betray a publishing industry navigating a consolidation in online audiences following a reduction in referral traffic due to the introduction of AI search products.
Strong brands with diverse, but largely subscription-driven revenue models have generally managed to grow relative to mid-sized publishers that derive revenue primarily from digital advertising. As The Media Leader has previously reported, one-third of independent publishers could be out of business by the end of this year as revenues dry up due to a loss of referral traffic and, therefore, programmatic ad revenue.
“The uneven distribution of this growth highlights the ongoing need for strategic agility,” Andy Cowen, Deloitte’s lead partner for telecoms, media and entertainment commented. “Publishers are rightly focused on innovation, new products and acquisitions, alongside essential cost management, to secure future success.”
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The report notes that future growth strategies are “multi-faceted”. All respondents said that growing ad revenues, creating new products, and acquisitions were all “high” priorities for their business over the next 12 months.
Notably, non-advertising revenue is a priority for just half of respondents in Q4 2025, compared to 100% in 2024, suggesting many publishers have already begun the transition to more diverse business models.
Apart from subscriptions, other growth drivers included off-platform (+19.3% year on year for full year 2025) and sponsorship (+10.1%). Multimedia strategies also produced mixed results for publishers. In aggregate, online video revenue grew 6.5% for the full year 2025 while digital audio revenues declined 1.4%, due in part to a substantial (-52%) drop off in Q4.
All respondents surveyed also said they would consider making cost reductions over the next year. This compares to 75% in Q4 2024.
Reeves said: “There is still work to be done to ensure revenue growth is seen consistently across the industry.
“With publishers united around bold growth strategies, from new products to acquisitions, I’m optimistic that future growth will be both sustained and more widely shared.”
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