Programmatic business formulas for the media: new ways of monetization

Abstract

The financial sustainability of the media is the main challenge facing the journalism industry since the emergence of the Internet and the change in the journalistic business model. There is a decisive evolution from a source of income focused on advertising towards diverse formulas of payment models, both in the online version of traditional media and in those that have emerged exclusively digitally. However, the results in the form of income are not as expected, since the media in Spain accumulate one million paying subscribers, below forecasts. The evolution of the audience and types of consumption forces us to innovate on possible alternative means of income and audience loyalty. The research follows a quantitative (statistical) and qualitative methodology (in-depth interviews and grounded theory), in a dynamic of triangulation. The results indicate that the reader seeks alternative mechanisms to access content, and that the media try to respond to this challenge by adapting advertising proposals. It is concluded that the media must promote and take advantage of alternative channels to reach the reader (such as social networks or instant messaging), and explore and exploit direct programmatic advertisements to specific audiences and programmatic purchasing as a new source of financing that complements the already existing ones.