The Digital PR Newsletter #59

What Reach Plc’s Report Means for PR

Hello, it’s been a while. I’ve been navigating a family health matter recently, so the newsletter has taken a bit of a back seat.

That said, I’ll still send occasional updates when I come across something I think will be genuinely useful to you, like the one I’m sharing today.

Yesterday Reach plc, the company behind publications such as The Mirror, The Express, The Star, Daily Record and 100+ regional titles released their 2025 financial report.
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I had a read through it, I'll share with you the interesting bits, and the 3 ways I think this could change the way we do PR.
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Firstly, here are some interesting numbers
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•46% year on year reduction in traffic from Google (H2 2025 vs H2 2024)
•100+ new specialist video roles added
•15,000 premium digital subscribers at year end
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And this line stood out the most from the report

“We are managing our business on the assumption that our on-platform volume… will not see a recovery to its former peaks.”
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​One of the UK’s largest publishers is explicitly planning for a future where Google traffic doesn’t bounce back.
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Here's what I think this could mean

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​1. Fewer Quick Answer Stories
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​For years, Reach Plc has been operating on a volume model. More articles meant more traffic from Google, which meant more £.

But if Google traffic keeps declining (46% down H2 2025 vs H2 2024), the economics start to break. Eventually, the juice won’t be worth the squeeze.

We may see fewer low value, search-led articles where the answer is easily surfaced in search results, e.g. when do the clocks go forward, what time do Tottenham kick off, when to take your Christmas tree down.
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From a PR perspective, that could shrink one of the easiest coverage routes, search-led explainers such as “how to stop frozen pipes”, “how to keep cool during a heatwave”, or “when to put up Christmas tree" (I used to benefit from that last one every year).
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I also think going to the effort of sending out a journalist request for “the perfect time to boil an egg” (yes, that was a real request), then sifting through what I imagine are hundreds of responses, verifying sources and writing the article up, won’t feel like the best use of a journalist’s time, especially when the answer is already surfaced directly on the search results page (6-7 mins if you like it runny, 10-12 mins for full hard boiled).

So I think we may start to see the types of stories that get written change.
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2. Video Opportunity

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Reach plc added over 100 new video specialists and part of the plan appears to be driving traffic from video back to their websites, as well as using video content within articles, on socials and on Youtube.

Their newsrooms are structurally reallocating resources into video.

Which means video ready stories could be an opportunity

If you can bring

•Footage

•A strong on camera expert

•Video case studies

•Data that works visually

•A format that could be a segment

You're likely at an advantage, as you’re pitching where the resources are going.

3. Exclusives May Become More Important
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​In the report, Reach plc said it has “launched digital subscriptions, offering our audiences ad-lite access and exclusive content.”

Six titles have launched so far, including the Manchester Evening News and the Express, with the company targeting more than 75,000 subscribers by 2026.

These are paid subscriptions. Reach ended 2025 with around 15,000 subscribers, so they’re aiming to grow that number five-fold.

They also said they are hiring their first ever Head of Digital Subscriptions, which signals a clear shift towards paid models.

And I think that’s where journalism is heading, people will increasingly have to pay for it.

But realistically, most people won’t pay for a subscription unless they’re getting something they can’t easily find elsewhere.
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Which is why I think exclusives will become more important.

And one of the easiest and cheapest ways for Reach titles to get exclusives is by working with PRs. So I wouldn’t be surprised if more journalists start asking for exclusives, and you have more luck if you start offering them too.

That's all for this time, thanks for reading! For all previous newsletters, see below.

— Mark

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