Pearson plc is retreating from an eight-year attempt to be the dominant German financial daily to concentrate on what it sees as a more attainable goal -- boosting the FT brand worldwide and improving its digital financial information business.
The British publisher's announcement Wednesday that it will sell its half of unprofitable Financial Times Deutschland to joint venture partner and Bertelsmann AG unit Gruner + Jahr is the latest move to reposition the Financial Times, exit non-English language newspapers and focus on its digital financial information business. G+J picked up the other half of FT Deutschland for a reported 10 million euro ($15 million) in cash, but will still give Pearson a cut in licensing fees for the FT name. As The Deal's Andrew Bulkeley reminds us, the sale is part of a broader about-face by Pearson on foreign language titles. Previously the company sold its Recoletos Grupo de Comunicacion SA, which publishes Spain's Expansion newspaper, for 941 million euros, and it has also negotiated to sell its French-language Les Echos daily to luxe goods group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA.
But back to the digital front and the FT revamp. It seems some consumer research returned the result that nonreaders and younger managers perceived the FT as inaccessible and old-fashioned, the company said.
So, in April, the company launched a new ad campaign aimed at "capturing the energy and excitement of modern business," as well as a direct marketing campaign. At the same time, the FT unveiled a facelift, with plans to add more color pages and execute design and content changes to its magazines. The company also hired some new editorial blood. The next month, the FT launched a sponsored magazine focused on the business of sports and premiered with America's Cup and Formula One racing. It was the first launch by the FT's then-new strategic development unit.
On the Web front, Pearson in October came down on both sides of a strategy many media companies have experimented with: paid content. The company unveiled plans to open up FT's online content for free, sort of, with a "light touch" registration fee for readers who want access to more than 30 articles per month. Pearson also announced additional enhancements it would roll out over several months including new sections and tools, more video, and design and performance upgrades -- in order, it said, to enable blogs and aggregators access to content in hopes they would link back liberally. Premium subscribers, Pearson said, would also have access to a new FT Mobile News Reader application.
Elsewhere, Pearson over the summer was considering teaming up with General Electric Co.'s CNBC on a go at Dow Jones Inc., but decided against it. Two months later, CNBC Europe partnered with FT on the cable channel's "executive search" for Europe's top business leaders. And also on the digital front, Pearson acquired Money-Media, a U.S.-based online news and commentary for the money management industry, from its CEO. More deals and brand enhancements are likely in the works. - Carolyn Murphy
See TheDeal.com story on Pearson-GE-DJ
See TheDeal.com story on Les Echoes-LVMH
See TheDeal.com story on Recoletos-RCS MediaGroup
See Pearson press release on FT refresh
See Pearson press release on Business of Sport mags
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