More C-suite executives, senior management and front-line workers in the media and entertainment industries engaged with stories and articles from The Desk on LinkedIn compared to similarly-situated trade publications in 2024, according to data from LinkedIn Analytics.
The data showed The Desk with the largest volume of comments, reactions and shares among executives and workers in a variety of covered industries, including:
- broadcast television
- pay television (cable, satellite and streaming cable-like services)
- broadcast radio
- digital audio (including satellite radio, streaming audio and podcasts)
- TV and radio advertising
- TV and radio marketing
According to LinkedIn Analytics, The Desk logged nearly twice as many social interactions as Barrett Media, three times more social interactions compared to Broadband TV News and six times more interactions than StreamTV Insider from January 1 to December 31, 2024. The Desk also logged significantly more social interactions than Cablefax (14x), Advanced Television (15x), the Radio & Television Business Report (25x) and Radio Ink (67x).
The Desk was also the #1 media and entertainment trade publication in terms of social interactions among our core competitive set on a per-month basis, achieving the top spot each consecutive month from February 2024 onward, according to LinkedIn Analytics. In January 2024, The Desk was the #2 most-engaged media and entertainment trade publication in social interactions, behind Broadband TV News, but well ahead of Barrett Media, StreamTV Insider and other competitors.
In December 2024, The Desk reached more than 2,000 followers on LinkedIn — a milestone achieved less than 18 months after launching its showcase page. The Desk was the #1 media and entertainment trade publication in follower growth on LinkedIn among core competitors, edging out Barrett Media. With nearly 2,100 followers to date, The Desk has more engaged media and entertainment executives than StreamTV Insider (1,650+ followers), Cablefax (1,700 folowers) and Broadcasting & Cable (1,100 followers), and a higher rate of new follower growth in 2024 compared to Broadband TV News (5x), Advanced Television (7x) and Next TV (8x).
“Through innovative storytelling and targeted delivery, The Desk proved in 2024 that small-staff trade publications can break big news and influence conversations in the offices of the world’s most-regarded broadcasters, streaming services and other media and entertainment companies,” commented Matthew Keys, Publisher of The Desk. “Our deliberate focus on innovative companies, imaginative startups and smart leaders has proven to be a winner among our readers, which spans across C-suite executives, senior management, junior management and front-line workers alike. Our success on LinkedIn proves our mission of reaching executives and other readers on their platforms of choice, with the news and stories they want to follow, absolutely worked in 2024, and I’m excited to build on that strategy throughout 2025 and well into the future.”
In addition to its success on LinkedIn, The Desk achieved a number of other milestones, including:
- approximately 3 million page views across TheDesk.net and our syndication partners, including MSN (formerly Microsoft Start/Microsoft News) and Amazon’s Internet Movie Database (IMDb), between November 1 and December 31 — a 60-day record, with November page views above 1.5 million, a near-record for a single month, based on combined data from Google Analytics and partner platforms.
- the launch of “The Editor’s Desk,” a weekly web show that takes a deeper look into the headlines and trends of the media and entertainment industries, co-hosted by The Desk publisher Matthew Keys and veteran media analyst Rick Howe, with distribution on LinkedIn and MSN.
- the launch of @thedesk.net on Bluesky, the first media and trade publication on the emerging social media platform, rapidly growing to more than 3,500 followers.
- delivery of stories that reached more than 61,000 followers on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
- coverage of the TV of Tomorrow Show, the first industry trade conference attended by The Desk.
- further development of “A Conversation With,” a feature-style Q&A that spotlights leaders and executives in media, including interviews with Tracy Swedlow (founder, ITVT), Giles Tongue (VP of Marketing, Bango), Adam Ware (SVP of Growth Networks, Sinclair), Kirby Grines (founder, 43twenty & The Streaming Wars) and Sharri Berg (President, Fox Weather).
- collaborative editorial partnerships with peer publications, including StreamTV Insider and The Streaming Wars, which licensed or syndicated original reports on the media and entertainment industry.
- interviews with leading executives, senior managers and front-line workers at Comcast (NBC Universal, Sky Group), Charter Communications (Spectrum), Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair Broadcasting, Fox Corporation (Fox News Media, Fox Television Stations), Allen Media Group, Gray Media, the E. W. Scripps Company, Philo, Echostar (Dish Network, Sling TV), Synamedia, C15 Studio, MyBundle, LiveOne, TuneIn, OTTera, Adell Broadcasting, Antennas Direct and Juice Media, among others, for breaking news, exclusive reports, original stories and feature profiles.
- the development and nurturing of client and source relationships with leading public relations, communications and measurement firms, including Antenna, Nielsen, Comscore, Parks Associates, Bob Gold PR, Fabric Media, Eric Becker PR, Dollinger Strategic Communications, The Brand Amp and Breakaway Communications.
- a second year of profitability since the incorporation of parent company Solano Media in 2022.
The Desk also led coverage of some of the industry’s biggest news stories throughout 2024, including:
- an ongoing federal lawsuit between streaming service Fubo and three broadcasters — the Walt Disney Company, Fox Corporation and Warner Bros Discovery — with exclusive reporting on industry support of Fubo by peer platforms DirecTV and Dish Network, which was widely cited by other trade publications.
- an in-depth profile that examined the effective reach of broadcast television in delivering high viewership for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games on NBC, relative to streaming competitor Peacock, with interviews and quotes attributed to executives from Nexstar Media, E. W. Scripps, Antennas Direct and TEGNA.
- exclusive reporting on how a Florida journalist used a password belonging to CBS News to access, record and leak unaired video clips of Fox News programming, published several weeks before the journalist was indicted and arrested on numerous computer hacking and electronic interception charges, with ongoing coverage and exclusive reports throughout the year on the arrest of his alleged co-conspirator and their criminal cases and trial.
- exclusive reports on the failed acquisition of Detroit TV station WADL-TV (Channel 38) by Mission Broadcasting, with the first report on a critical FCC decision, the withdrawal of Mission Broadcasting from the deal, and the forthcoming disposition of WADL and related broadcast assets by current owner Kevin Adell.
- regular reports on a defamation lawsuit brought by two news directors who were fired by Nexstar Media in 2023 over a controversial memo circulated to newsroom staff, with the first report that a judge allowed the lawsuit to proceed.
- an in-depth feature that explored rising viewership among America’s multicast TV networks relative to free, ad-supported streaming TV channels.
- an exclusive report on the launch of a public outreach campaign by DirecTV that utilized the public domain character Steamboat Willie during a carriage dispute with the Walt Disney Company, and a separate report (licensed to StreamTV Insider) that revealed DirecTV had quietly tested the delivery of a national NBC feed over its satellite platform during a separate dispute with TEGNA.
Throughout 2025, The Desk will capitalize on its prior success and effectuate new relationships and products to super-serve its readers and clients, including the sponsorship and attendance of industry events and the launch of direct advertising that will allow companies and organizations to promote their products, services, campaigns and events to readers on the web, via The Desk‘s free e-mail newsletters for industry executives and on other platforms.
About The Desk
Launched in 2014, The Desk covers business, trends and policy-related matters that impact the media and entertainment industries, with a specific focus on broadcast television, broadcast radio, pay and premium television, streaming video, digital audio, advertising, marketing and law, with significant reach and engagement on LinkedIn, Bluesky and X/Twitter. Select articles from The Desk are syndicated or licensed to third party services, and redistributed by platforms like MSN (formerly Microsoft Start/Microsoft News), Google News and Amazon’s Internet Movie Database (IMDb). The Desk is owned by Solano Media and based in Northern California.
