As media companies are looking for new and innovative ways to diversify their revenue streams, Hearst Media reported its seventh straight year of record profits, closing 2017 with $10.8 billion in revenue.
In his annual letter to Hearst employees, Steven R. Swartz, president and CEO, applauded the company for the myriad ways it collected revenue, citing Hearst’s Business Media unit as one of the most profitable arms.
Business Media accounted for 28% of Hearst’s 2017 revenue. Its networks span financial services, aviation safety and healthcare.
Last year, Hearst acquired Rodale’s stable of publications, including Men’s Health, Women’s Health and Prevention. Swartz called the acquisition a much-needed “shot in the arm” of new talent, but also addressed the tumultuous aspects of the publishing industry.
“With respect to many of our titles, we need the readers to pay more for the product,” Swartz wrote. “We need to find a way to make digital subscription products work for magazines in the way that they are starting to work for newspapers.”
Hearst titles like HGTV Magazine and Food Network Magazine, two of the company’s newer titles launched over the last decade, were among the most profitable publications. The Pioneer Woman Magazine, launched in 2017, and Swartz predicted it would be a success in the new year.
The company’s local cable networks, 30 in all, also continued to be a strong point of revenue. National cable holdings, like A&E and History, both saw strong ratings. The company also clocked more than 2 million weekly views of its streaming shows, Everyday Struggle, Hot Ones and Sneaker Shopping, produced in partnership with Verizon.
