This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/media-blog/2013/jun/02/financial-times-group-restructures
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Financial Times Group gets a new name – but John Ridding stays in driving seat | Financial Times Group gets a new name – but John Ridding stays in driving seat |
| (4 months later) | |
| This week MediaGuardian 25, our survey of Britain's most important media companies, covering TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, music and digital, looks at the Financial Times Group. | This week MediaGuardian 25, our survey of Britain's most important media companies, covering TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, music and digital, looks at the Financial Times Group. |
| The Financial Times Group is on its way into history because its parent, Pearson, has decided to subsume it into a new division as part of a major restructure. So, from the beginning of next year, the FT Group will become part of Pearson's oddly-named Professional unit. The current chief executive, John Ridding, will head the new outfit too. | The Financial Times Group is on its way into history because its parent, Pearson, has decided to subsume it into a new division as part of a major restructure. So, from the beginning of next year, the FT Group will become part of Pearson's oddly-named Professional unit. The current chief executive, John Ridding, will head the new outfit too. |
| That decision isn't too surprising because the group has prospered under Ridding's stewardship, just as the paper itself did when he was its chief executive from 2006 onwards. His watchword has been digital innovation, and the FT has consistently pioneered a number of online products following its trend-setting decision to erect a metered paywall for its website. | That decision isn't too surprising because the group has prospered under Ridding's stewardship, just as the paper itself did when he was its chief executive from 2006 onwards. His watchword has been digital innovation, and the FT has consistently pioneered a number of online products following its trend-setting decision to erect a metered paywall for its website. |
| The latest experiment was unveiled last week, fastFT, a service that provides – in the words of Lionel Barber, the editor – "short, sharp takes on market-breaking news or market developments" plus "informed comment". It follows the success the FT has enjoyed with another product, Alphaville, a real-time markets commentary service launched in 2006. Other online ideas have fallen by the wayside, but the point reiterated by Ridding and Barber is that it is necessary during this consistently disruptive digital revolution to keep experimenting in order to keep pace with the speed of change. | The latest experiment was unveiled last week, fastFT, a service that provides – in the words of Lionel Barber, the editor – "short, sharp takes on market-breaking news or market developments" plus "informed comment". It follows the success the FT has enjoyed with another product, Alphaville, a real-time markets commentary service launched in 2006. Other online ideas have fallen by the wayside, but the point reiterated by Ridding and Barber is that it is necessary during this consistently disruptive digital revolution to keep experimenting in order to keep pace with the speed of change. |
| They believe this mixture of invention and pragmatism lies behind the building of a large online audience, and were able to announce in June 2012 that the number of FT digital subscribers had overtaken the number buying the print edition. | They believe this mixture of invention and pragmatism lies behind the building of a large online audience, and were able to announce in June 2012 that the number of FT digital subscribers had overtaken the number buying the print edition. |
| This was a landmark moment, inevitably triggering speculation about the likelihood of the paper dropping its print issue in favour of a digital-only presence. Evidently, that isn't on the agenda – newsprint advertising sales remain an important component of the group's revenue. So it wouldn't make business sense to stop printing the pink paper. | This was a landmark moment, inevitably triggering speculation about the likelihood of the paper dropping its print issue in favour of a digital-only presence. Evidently, that isn't on the agenda – newsprint advertising sales remain an important component of the group's revenue. So it wouldn't make business sense to stop printing the pink paper. |
| One other key reason for the FT's success was its early decision, before the internet forever changed the media landscape, to become a global title. It was the first British national newspaper to see the value in attracting an international audience, and was therefore in prime position, as print sales went into decline, to maintain and create reader loyalty across the world through its online offerings. | One other key reason for the FT's success was its early decision, before the internet forever changed the media landscape, to become a global title. It was the first British national newspaper to see the value in attracting an international audience, and was therefore in prime position, as print sales went into decline, to maintain and create reader loyalty across the world through its online offerings. |
| Now, in the year of its 125th anniversary, the FT boasts a combined paid-for print and digital circulation of more than 600,000; online subscribers have grown to 328,000 in the first three months of this year, up 15% year on year. | Now, in the year of its 125th anniversary, the FT boasts a combined paid-for print and digital circulation of more than 600,000; online subscribers have grown to 328,000 in the first three months of this year, up 15% year on year. |
| Growing online take-up has also persuaded the group to reduce the number of articles it allows people to access for free. Once it was 20 a month. Now it is down to just eight. | Growing online take-up has also persuaded the group to reduce the number of articles it allows people to access for free. Once it was 20 a month. Now it is down to just eight. |
| The FT brand has also proved potent, enabling the company to diversify into events and conferences through an arm called FT Live. In 2012, it staged over 200 events globally in more than 40 cities, attracting some 17,000 delegates, and its revenue grew by double digits over 2011. The group also publishes FT Confidentials, a series of publications, in print and online, offering predictive analysis on investment themes for specific countries, such as China and Brazil. One for the south east Asian countries has just been launched. In a further spin-off to monetise its product, FT works with Pearson to enable its content to be used as an educational tool through initiatives such as FT Newslines. | The FT brand has also proved potent, enabling the company to diversify into events and conferences through an arm called FT Live. In 2012, it staged over 200 events globally in more than 40 cities, attracting some 17,000 delegates, and its revenue grew by double digits over 2011. The group also publishes FT Confidentials, a series of publications, in print and online, offering predictive analysis on investment themes for specific countries, such as China and Brazil. One for the south east Asian countries has just been launched. In a further spin-off to monetise its product, FT works with Pearson to enable its content to be used as an educational tool through initiatives such as FT Newslines. |
| But the FT Group is more than just the paper. It also has a 50% stake in the Economist, the London-based weekly news magazine that sells hundreds of thousands more copies in the US than in Britain, and has also made a successful move into digital. And the magazine has returned healthy profits for many years. | But the FT Group is more than just the paper. It also has a 50% stake in the Economist, the London-based weekly news magazine that sells hundreds of thousands more copies in the US than in Britain, and has also made a successful move into digital. And the magazine has returned healthy profits for many years. |
| Then there is the profitable Mergermarket, a family of online services that provide the advisory, corporate and financial communities with financial intelligence and analysis. It has 800 staff supplying data to more than 3,500 advisory firms, investment banks, law firms, hedge funds and private equity firms. | Then there is the profitable Mergermarket, a family of online services that provide the advisory, corporate and financial communities with financial intelligence and analysis. It has 800 staff supplying data to more than 3,500 advisory firms, investment banks, law firms, hedge funds and private equity firms. |
| In addition, the FT Group – in a joint venture with Dow Jones, publishers of the Wall Street Journal, and the Finnish-based Sanoma company – owns Vedomosti, a Russian-language business daily. | In addition, the FT Group – in a joint venture with Dow Jones, publishers of the Wall Street Journal, and the Finnish-based Sanoma company – owns Vedomosti, a Russian-language business daily. |
| It could not be clearer that it is the FT itself, the Pink 'Un, which lies at the heart of this profitable enterprise. So the idea, raised at regular intervals, of Pearson selling off the paper seems far-fetched. | It could not be clearer that it is the FT itself, the Pink 'Un, which lies at the heart of this profitable enterprise. So the idea, raised at regular intervals, of Pearson selling off the paper seems far-fetched. |
| Pearson's chief executive, John Fallon, has categorically denied that the company is thinking of disposing of the paper. He said recently: "It is a valued and valuable part of Pearson." | Pearson's chief executive, John Fallon, has categorically denied that the company is thinking of disposing of the paper. He said recently: "It is a valued and valuable part of Pearson." |
| The company's profile speaks for itself. But it is hard to understand why Fallon has decided to yoke it, under his restructure plan, with Pearson's global English learning business and its electronic testing business. The likely synergies between those businesses are, as yet, unclear. | The company's profile speaks for itself. But it is hard to understand why Fallon has decided to yoke it, under his restructure plan, with Pearson's global English learning business and its electronic testing business. The likely synergies between those businesses are, as yet, unclear. |
| The numbers | The numbers |
| Revenue: £443m, up 4% on 2011 (FT Group, 2012) | Revenue: £443m, up 4% on 2011 (FT Group, 2012) |
| Profits: £49m, down 7% on 2011 (reflects absence of the unique £20m profit in 2011 from sale of Pearson's stake in FTSE International) | Profits: £49m, down 7% on 2011 (reflects absence of the unique £20m profit in 2011 from sale of Pearson's stake in FTSE International) |
| Circulation: print – 266,169 (April, ABC) digital – 328,000 subscribers (Jan-March) | Circulation: print – 266,169 (April, ABC) digital – 328,000 subscribers (Jan-March) |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |