When the E. W. Scripps Company announced last week that it was effectively pulling the plug on its rolling news channel Scripps News, the company’s chief executive cited ongoing hesitancy by national advertisers to buy inventory against news content.
The hesitancy came from the perception by media buyers that news content is increasingly divisive, and that buying inventory against news shows and channels was a reputational risk, Symson said in a note sent to employees that included a warning about job losses.
“Amidst an already difficult linear television advertising marketplace, many brands and agencies have decided that advertising around national news is just too risky for them given the polarized nature of this country, no matter the accolades and credentials a news organization like Scripps receives for its objectivity,” Symson wrote. “I vehemently disagree, but it is hurting Scripps News, along with every other national linear and digital news outlet.”
The lack of interest from advertisers meant Scripps News was not pulling in the revenue needed to sustain a live news channel on broadcast and cable, and the company is working to pare back its live news output between now and November.
A new study released by global media platform Teads this week in partnership with several leading marketing and measurement firms suggests Symson’s perspective is correct and that advertiser concerns about the potential reputational risks associated with running campaigns against news content are significantly overblown.
The Teads study involved 900 consumers who were asked to read news content on their phones, with stories coming from reputable commercial news businesses like CNN and Reuters. The study found an 18 percent increase in interest against hard news content like stories involving current events or politics, compared to lifestyle and culturally-driven articles. Among those higher-interest stories, ad attention increased 20 percent, and article engagement increased 35 percent, the study found.
That attention turned into results for advertisers and brands, Teads found, with the study finding a “strong correlation between attention and upper-funnel brand outcomes when ads were viewed alongside traditional news content,” a spokesperson for the firm wrote.
Specifically, ads that ran alongside hard news content saw a 20 percent increase in ad attention and a 77 percent increase in ad recall compared to ads that ran against soft news, the study found. While hard news tends to be more actionable than soft news in terms of recall and conversion, consumer perception of news stories across those verticals and the advertisements run against them tends to be the same.
“Over the last several years, brand safety concerns and new industry parameters have influenced brands to shy away from advertising alongside traditional news,” John Trotter, the Senior Dierctor of Research and Insights at Teads, said in a statement. “As a global media platform committed to supporting quality journalism, we see these results as a proof point for brands determining a path forward amidst a focus on global politics, the economy, and other traditional news topics. Consumers are invested in these stories, and advertisers have a prime opportunity to reach engaged key audiences in a traditionally underutilized space.”
Marybeth Strobel, the Executive Vice President of Ad Sales at Warner Bros Discovery’s CNN, said brands and agencies are essential in supporting good journalism.
“Quality journalism does more than just report the news; it drives meaningful conversations, holds power to account, and engages audiences in ways that align with brand goals,” Strobel said this week. “When a brand is part of these conversations, their impact with audiences is powerful.”
The results of the survey come at a critical time for broadcasters and news publishers: With Election Day about a month away, political campaigns are working at a fever pace to get their messaging out to voters, and interest in reliable news content increases around this time of the election cycle.
Brands can seize on that opportunity by making sure their campaigns are seen at a time when more Americans are turning to reliable and trusted news sources to help them make sense of all the chaotic moving parts, particularly in the political, national and global news space. If news outlets aren’t financially supported, newsrooms like Scripps News will continue to downsize or, in some cases, close entirely — which not only hurts efforts to distribute reliable, fact-based news, but also limits the potential reach of brands who will have fewer platforms for their messaging.
“If marketers and business leaders continue to shy away from investing in the news, the continued defunding of news will continue and also, brands will miss out on the ability to reach incredibly valuable audiences,” Alexis Williams, the Chief Brand Officer at Stagwell, said in a statement. “This is the time to reverse the vicious cycle of defunding news and to support the journalism that underpins our societal future.”
