Publishers grapple with Q1 ad revenue challenges in a ‘buyer’s market’

It’s been a tough three months for publishers, according to executives who spoke during a closed-door town hall session at the Digiday Publishing Summit in Vail, Colorado, last week.

“Not a great quarter. Traffic’s down. Advertisers are very timid in spending. They’re in a wait-and-see mode. So this is definitely the downslope. We expect it to come back, but definitely not a great quarter,” said one publishing exec.

Q1 is typically a slow quarter for ad revenue, as post-holiday spending slows and new ad budgets get reset. But the exec said the downturn they’re experiencing now contrasts with the same period in 2024, which was their company’s “best quarter … ever.”

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.