Coming to America: The Independent thanks US expansion for record revenue
The Independent delivered record growth this morning, with revenue up 52 per cent over the past two years as the media group drives international expansion.
The boom was buffered 96 million monthly visitors across the year, with more than 50 per cent of this coming from outside of the UK.
Unlike a lot of editorial teams, the company is growing its teams rather than shrinking them, increasing 53 per cent in the last three years.
John Paton, Chairman of Independent Digital News and Media, explained how international expansion has been central to its approach.
“Our history is London and the UK, but we are a global media business now”, he told City PM
Indeed, over 40 per cent of total revenue came from overseas in the past year, with the US becoming a huge target for the company.
“Our content particularly resonates with an American audience because it does what it says on the tin.”
It is therefore no surprise that its US editorial team, based in LA, New York and Washington DC, is set to double in the coming year.
Paton explained that the Indy is seen as an “honest broker” to Americans, and commented: “It brings a truly independent viewpoint, and it tries to be centrist. This is really important in a country, which is very divided like the US”.
In terms of how the firm ensures this “independence”, Paton told City PM that it is baked into its culture via a shareholder agreement, as well as through its journalists on the ground.
Another element of its success has been its clear focus on understanding the customer journey of readers; Paton explains how there are more than 4000 algorithms on customer segments on its various sites.
This strategy has allowed it to keep up with the red tops, like The Sun and Mail Online, and outperform the likes of the Guardian and the Telegraph.