What’s behind Bloomberg’s plan to make digital media work

Sarah Sluis of AdExchanger.com writes about Bloomberg Media’s plan to grow its digital media business.

Sluis writes, “Bloomberg has historically taken a cautious approach to game-changing platforms like Facebook, which offered publishers access to audiences but not revenue.

“Holding out for opportunities with a better value exchange has had its benefits. TicToc, its ad-supported news network on Twitter, averages 2 million daily views. The show spun out of Bloomberg’s coverage of the 2016 presidential debates, followed by a few live shows a day. It’s testing Facebook Live with the show ‘At What Cost?’

“Bloomberg doesn’t require viewers to authenticate to watch its digital video channel, unlike rival news networks, which enabled it to build a strong video supply just as the OTT advertising market heats up.

“Bloomberg’s sell-through rate on OTT rose to 68%, this year compared to 24% last year. ‘We have been scaling up our OTT inventory and distribution for the past few years, even as the marketplace wasn’t there. That bet is starting to pay off,’ Grossman said.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.