After having to cancel an event when a key sponsor dropped out, the company has also shifted its event strategy.
Now, Newsweek is working to build an experiential portfolio powered by a delegate-fee model, which is designed to attract five or six sponsors per event rather than one or two, de-risking a business that has historically leaned on anchor sponsors.
Video has become another source of growth.
Non-programmatic video revenue is expected to grow roughly tenfold between 2025 and 2026, according to Pragad, anchored by a seven-figure sponsored franchise, Unconventional, and two six-figure franchises, Newsmakers and From the Paddock. Its social video operation, which includes 2.4 million TikTok followers, generates high-six-figure revenue.
An uncertain future
None of this erases the damage to publishing, which Pragad has deliberately walled off into its own unit so that rankings and events revenue do not subsidize it.
The saving grace of the division is its eight-figure syndication revenue, which is unaffected by search.
Likewise, a newsletter list of just under 2 million free subscribers serves as a key source of engagement, one the publisher intends to use to bolster its subscription business. Pragad declined to share the exact number of paying subscribers Newsweek has, calling it only “on the small side,” but the business is a priority and is expected to grow 20% this year.
Still, the headwinds buffeting the core Newsweek business were substantial enough to spur layoffs, and the company could face further challenges in the space going forward.
The full rollout of Google’s AI-generated search results has yet to arrive, Pragad noted. When it does, the Newsweek audience could shrink considerably further, a scenario that could force a more dramatic response.
For now, the publisher is betting that engagement and subscriptions can replace scale.
“The era of big audiences has peaked and is starting to decline,” Pragad said. “Engagement and subscription is the next thing.”
Talking Heds
Semafor Cinema (EXCLUSIVE): The arms race among publishers to build out their video offerings is officially afoot. The New York Times’ executive editor called its effort to ramp up The Times’ video offering as transformational as its transition from print to digital, and a slew of other outlets, including Fortune, The Guardian, and Bloomberg Media, have sunk serious coin into becoming multimedia platforms. On Tuesday, Semafor joined suit, poaching its new video lead Adam Banicki from Fortune and announcing plans to debut as many as six new shows in the coming months. Specifically, Semafor has adopted an “anti-scale” strategy, which I detailed here, in hopes of capturing the eyeballs of the executive class. Monetization and cost structure will be paramount in these efforts: Remember, these publishers are competing with creators shooting walk-and-talk videos on their mobile phones, so expensive, polished productions are not necessarily the answer.
Fanatics Festivities: The multiday sports extravaganza Fanatics Fest returns to New York City on Thursday, where the full depth of CEO Michael Rubin’s Rolodex will be on display. Athletes, agents, media, creators, and vendors will fill the Javits Center for four days, which will surely yield a glut of high-visibility social content. There are rumors LeBron James will use the forum to announce which team he next intends to join. The festival, just in its third year, has quickly emerged as a tentpole in the sports media landscape, a testament to how influential Fanatics has become in recent years. The company, which operates three distinct businesses—licensing and merchandise, collectibles, and gambling—sits at a unique nexus in the world of professional sports, and I would not be surprised to see it expand further in the near future.
