Live events now account for 15 percent of revenues within Bloomberg’s news division, up from 1 percent five years ago, reports Anna Nicolaou of The Financial Times.
Nicolau reports, “Bloomberg LP makes most of its money selling data terminals to financial customers. Its media group has spent the past two years searching for lines of business that Mr Smith called ‘invention-led growth’ that would offer respite from the more challenging markets of television, print and radio.
“‘We made the commitment to ourselves that we would get into new businesses that were not facing the same media headwinds,’ said Mr Smith. ‘Businesses that actually had media tailwinds.”
“Live events is one such revenue stream. Another is consumer subscriptions, which have become the driving force of growth for media companies ranging from the New York Times to Netflix.
“‘Bloomberg declined to disclose how many subscriptions it has sold for its news website, which costs more than $400 a year. However, Mr Smith claimed that subscription sales have grown by 79 per cent from a year ago.”
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