Impact of web content on profitability and market share of publishing business in UAE

Abstract

In the current technological and competitive world, individuals are provided with a broad range of digital as well as traditional channels. Presently, online news sites are providing high satisfaction to the readers, and this scenario has simultaneously caused a decline in the circulation of print newspapers. Given this, the present study aimed to identify the choice of consumers in online and print media regarding the format preference and also examined whether there is any difference in the demographic characteristics in the choice of consumer. This study adopted the quantitative method and primary data collection approach where paper-based survey was conducted among 102 journalists. Furthermore, this study analysed the influence of involved variables (print and online media) and also examined the relationship between format preference and demographic characteristics between the two media. This study would further shed light on the two important input classifications such as exploratory and descriptive research. The findings of the study are provided in tabular formats after carrying out the qualitative data collection such as the focus group interview and the elite and specialised interview. The hypotheses for the study were developed based on the literature review and were tested using the chi-squared test. The study’s findings showed that there is no association between personal attributes and media type. Majority of them reported that irrespective of education, gender, income, age and nationality, they prefer online media, especially the internet, as their basic resource. However, few old-age consumers prefer print media, especially newspapers. Moreover, this study concludes that there is no statistical significant association between media type preference and the reasons. This is due to the fact that, based on media type, there is a lack of difference in the reason choices provided by the consumers. This study empirically concludes that print media is significantly influenced by online media. Several features that create an impact on print media include profitability, market share, subscription, advertising revenue, demand and print revenue.

Keywords: Web content, new business models, profitability, market share.