At the latest CRUNCH event, industry leaders revealed that fostering trust, community, and participation is now the key to securing audience retention, higher-value advertising, and long-term revenue growth in a competitive digital landscape.

At a time when every publisher is competing for a finite pool of attention, the Association of Online Publishers’ latest CRUNCH event focused on a simple proposition: loyalty is no longer just a nice-to-have, but the foundation of both reader revenue and higher-value advertising. Speakers from Newsquest, GB News, Gumtree, PlanetSport and The Telegraph argued that the most dependable commercial gains come from audiences who return often, share data willingly and feel some degree of identity or trust in the brand. Newsquest, in particular, has had recent success on that front, saying in August 2025 that its digital audience reached 61 million unique visitors, with 208 million article page views and 135,000 monthly paying subscribers, after crossing 100,000 digital subscribers the year before.

For local publishers such as Newsquest, loyalty is built through relevance, personality and community. Susanne Kinnaird said the company’s strength lies in more than 200 local brands that can each be used to serve distinct audiences and advertiser segments, while also encouraging repeat visits and subscription conversion. She said the publisher’s journalists help anchor those communities, especially in sport, where reporters can become trusted voices in their own right. Elysse Jones of GB News described a similar shift in mindset, saying the broadcaster had moved from a simple register-and-read model to one centred on belonging, with a free community tier designed to lower the barrier to entry and encourage participation through polls, comments and live interaction.

Commercially, those participation signals matter because they convert into first-party and declared data, giving publishers a clearer view of what audiences care about and when they are most receptive. Jones said gamified streaks and loyalty points are now part of GB News’ effort to deepen engagement before monetising it. Nav Dhillon of Gumtree said the marketplace’s challenge is different: rather than content consumption, it maps loyalty to real-life moments such as buying a car, moving home or furnishing a flat, then uses that context to support more seamless advertising. PlanetSport’s George Odysseos, meanwhile, argued that the best defence against commoditised content is authenticity, saying sports audiences respond to writers with clear opinions and emotional investment, not generic output, and that publishers should protect the balance between commercial pressure and editorial value.

The Telegraph’s experience offered perhaps the clearest example of how a loyalty-led model can reshape both subscriptions and advertising. After shifting to a subscriber-first approach in 2019, the publisher rebuilt its ad business around fewer, more deliberate placements that would not damage the reader experience. Gareth Cross said commercial proposals now have to be justified against the risk to subscriptions, while Rachel Cottis outlined how authenticated users and zero-party data have allowed the paper to build audience segments from declared preferences and on-site interactions. Together, the presentations suggested that the strongest publisher businesses are no longer those chasing the largest audiences at any cost, but those turning trust, habit and participation into durable revenue.

Source Reference Map

Inspired by headline at: [1]

Sources by paragraph: - Paragraph 1: [2], [3], [4] - Paragraph 2: [1], [2], [3] - Paragraph 3: [1], [4], [5], [7] - Paragraph 4: [1], [3], [6], [7]

Source: Noah Wire Services

Verification / Sources

  • https://www.inpublishing.co.uk/articles/aop-crunch-how-publishers-can-unlock-and-leverage-loyalty-from-attention-torn-audiences-26484 - Please view link - unable to able to access data
  • https://www.newsquest.co.uk/news/newsquests-digital-audience-reaches-new-highs - In August 2025, Newsquest, the UK's leading local media group, achieved a record digital audience with 61 million unique online visitors. Their websites garnered 208 million article page views, marking an 11% year-on-year increase. The company also reported 135,000 monthly paying digital subscribers, a 35% rise from the previous year. Newsquest's portfolio includes over 200 titles across the UK, with the Oxford Mail and Eastern Daily Press being among the most visited sites. This growth underscores the demand for trusted local news and the effectiveness of Newsquest's engagement strategies.
  • https://www.newsquest.co.uk/news/newsquest-reaches-100k-digital-subs-milestone/ - In September 2024, Newsquest surpassed 100,000 monthly paying digital subscribers, marking a significant milestone in its digital growth. The company also recorded a record in total audience, with its websites achieving 187 million article page views in August, up 13% year on year. Newsquest launched a soft paywall on most of its larger local news sites in 2020, offering online visitors access to a limited number of articles before requiring a subscription. This approach has proven successful, with digital subscriptions now generating over £0.5 million per month.
  • https://www.inma.org/blogs/conference/post.cfm/super-users-may-be-the-key-to-unlocking-ad-and-subscription-revenue - At INMA’s Media Innovation Week in Dublin, insights revealed that 'super users'—the most loyal and engaged readers—are pivotal in driving both subscription and advertising revenue. Research from The New York Times and INMA indicates that these audiences deliver outsized value, suggesting that ads and subscriptions are complementary revenue streams built on reader engagement. This underscores the importance of fostering deep connections with highly engaged readers to enhance monetisation strategies.
  • https://www.antenna.live/insights/are-ad-free-subscribers-more-loyal - Antenna's analysis of premium subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services indicates that ad-free subscribers are not more loyal than those opting for ad-supported plans. Data from the first half of 2024 shows similar retention rates across both groups, with 77% remaining subscribed at Month 1, 62% at Month 3, and 50% at Month 6. However, ad-free plans exhibited slightly lower churn rates, suggesting that while ad-free subscribers may have a marginally higher propensity to stay, the difference is minimal.
  • https://www.inpublishing.co.uk/articles/aop-crunch-how-publishers-can-unlock-and-leverage-loyalty-from-attention-torn-audiences-26484 - The article discusses strategies employed by publishers to build and monetise loyal audiences amidst the challenge of capturing attention in a content-saturated environment. It highlights approaches from Newsquest, GB News, and Gumtree, focusing on strengthening direct relationships with readers, fostering community engagement, and leveraging first-party data to drive subscription growth and targeted advertising. The piece underscores the importance of user loyalty in generating recurring revenue and premium ad rates, emphasising the need for publishers to adapt to evolving audience expectations.
  • https://www.inpublishing.co.uk/articles/aop-crunch-how-publishers-can-unlock-and-leverage-loyalty-from-attention-torn-audiences-26484 - The article examines how publishers can cultivate and monetise loyal audiences in an era of information overload. It features insights from industry leaders at Newsquest, GB News, and Gumtree, who share their strategies for building community, enhancing user engagement, and utilising data to boost subscription and advertising revenues. The discussion highlights the critical role of audience loyalty in sustaining and growing revenue streams, offering practical examples of successful approaches in the publishing sector.

Noah Fact Check Pro

The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first emerged. We've since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may warrant further investigation.

Freshness check

Score: 8

Notes: The article references the Association of Online Publishers' CRUNCH event held on 19 March 2026 (ukaop.org). The latest data from Newsquest, including 61 million unique visitors and 135,000 monthly paying subscribers, is from August 2025 (pressrecognitionpanel.org.uk). The content appears current and not recycled.

Quotes check

Score: 7

Notes: Direct quotes from Susanne Kinnaird of Newsquest and Elysse Jones of GB News are included. However, without direct access to the original speeches or interviews, the accuracy of these quotes cannot be independently verified. The absence of direct sources raises concerns about their authenticity.

Source reliability

Score: 6

Notes: The article is published on inPublishing, a UK-based publication focusing on the media industry. While it is a niche publication, it is reputable within its field. However, the lack of direct access to primary sources for the quotes diminishes the overall reliability.

Plausibility check

Score: 8

Notes: The claims about Newsquest's digital audience growth and GB News's shift towards community engagement align with known industry trends. However, the absence of direct sources for the quotes introduces some uncertainty.

Overall assessment

Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS

Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): MEDIUM

Summary: The article provides a timely and relevant summary of the AOP CRUNCH event, with data from August 2025. However, the inability to independently verify the direct quotes from Newsquest and GB News raises concerns about their authenticity. The reliance on inPublishing's own reporting also affects the independence of the verification. While the content is plausible and the source is reputable, the verification process has some limitations, leading to a medium confidence level in the overall assessment.