Critically, Bloomberg Media has seen a decrease in advertising revenue, and it has not yet recouped that decline. Its advertising revenues were down year over year in the first half of 2023—the result of both the elimination of open-exchange and the depressed ad climate—but the publisher anticipates that its second-half ad revenues will be up year over year, according to Beizer.

But the preliminary data—although mixed—represents the early fruits of a larger, philosophical shift from the publisher toward an audience-first mindset. 

As part of this reorientation, Bloomberg Media has replaced six of its on-site ad units since January. In April, it unveiled a new, proprietary ad product for its newsletters, which has doubled its email ad revenue and increased clickthrough rate by 80%, said Beizer.

And now that the company no longer sources open-exchange demand, its ad units no longer need to be IAB-compliant, creating opportunities for the publisher to integrate richer, more dynamic ad products, such as its new “curtain leaderboard” unit.

Happy readers are lucrative readers

In removing open-market demand, the experiment exposes the conflicting interests of ad-funded publishers, who must continually strike a balance between monetization and user experience.

As a venture of its eponymous billionaire founder, Bloomberg Media benefits from an ownership group that makes long-term decisions, which lets it weather temporary financial shortfalls in exchange for the promise of future profitability. 

Ultimately, the calculus makes sense for a deep-pocketed publisher with a valuable audience, according to media analyst Jacob Donnelly, the author of the newsletter A Media Operator.

The decluttered ad experience appeals to advertisers and readers alike, encouraging both to deepen their relationship with the publisher. And the increased real estate with which to promote its content and products will only lead more readers to hit the paywall. 

“If you have a high-quality audience that is hard to get in front of, you can do this,” Donnelly said. “If your readership is general or your content is undifferentiated, it gets a lot harder to make this move confidently.”