Publishing in the United Kingdom

Market analysis of publishing in UK 

The UK publishing market contracted by negative 2.2% in 2020, continuing the downwards trend witnessed in the historic period at an accelerated rate. Across most of the forecast period, a recovery to growth is expected, but only at a very sluggish rate, fluctuating below 1%. The exception to this is 2023, when the market is anticipated to enter a decline. The COVID-19 pandemic, which first took hold in the UK in early 2020, has caused severe disruption to almost all global markets, including publishing. On the one hand, the closure of non-essential stores due to nationwide lockdown restrictions has greatly reduced footfall at physical retailers. For example, British book retailer Waterstones was forced to temporarily close its 283 shops across the country in the early stages of the pandemic. In addition, the economic uncertainty brought about by the pandemic has affected consumer spending, with final household consumption expenditure declining by negative 4.6% in the UK in 2020, according to GlobalData figures. 

Five Forces Analysis 

The publishing market will be analyzed taking publishers of books, newspapers, and magazines as players. The key buyers will be taken as individual consumers and advertising companies, and commercial printers; office space & it equipment suppliers; authors, journalists, and designers as the key suppliers, the report contains detailed discussion on the topic. 

Competitive Landscape 

The UK publishing market has struggled in recent years, particularly in the news and magazine segments as an increasing number of people are now consuming news digitally. Both advertising and circulation revenue have been declining steeply in recent years, and overall this has created a challenging operating environment for leading players. Disruption in the book publishing segment is also being driven by digital trends, such as audiobook distribution and subscription models for on-demand consumption of hardcopy books and eBooks. This trend has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with supply chain disruptions and the closure of physical bookstores encouraging many to turn to digital formats to consume reading content. Many leading players have been restructuring and shifting their operations online in an attempt to remain competitive, further information can be found inside the report. 

Table of Contents 

• Executive Summary 
• Market Overview 
• Market Data 
• Market Segmentation 
• Market Outlook 
• Five Forces Analysis 
• Competitive Landscape  
• Macroeconomic Indicators 

FAQ’s 

Who are the leading player? 

News Corporation (News Corp) is a media and information services provider that creates and distributes content and other products and services, the report contains detailed discussion on the topic. 

How is technology being used in leading players’ strategies? 

In the publishing segment, Daily Mail & General Trust plc and News Corp are under ongoing pressure from Google and Facebook, the major digital substitutes for both their advertising and news-reporting offerings, further information can be found inside the report.