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UK Media Top 50 

You said Help me write a blog post for my website hazelroche.com. Make sure you reference The Press Gazette as being a source of the information. Comment on what this means for brands. The UK’s biggest news media companies: New top 50 ranking by revenue Just over half of UK's biggest media companies grew turnover year on year. The UK’s biggest news media companies: New top 50 ranking by revenue Just over half of UK's biggest media companies grew turnover year on year. By Alice Brooker Top four media companies in UK by revenue. RELX Group (picture: Igor Golovniov, Shutterstock), BBC (Chris Dorney, Shutterstock), Informa (Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images), ITV (Piotr Swat, Shutterstock). The top three news media companies in the UK by revenue saw turnover increase in their latest full-year accounts, Press Gazette’s latest top 50 ranking shows. Collectively the top 50 increased their revenue by £1.1bn compared with last year, representing a 3.1% increase reporting £37.5bn versus £36.3bn. Most of the top UK media companies (29 out of 50) grew their revenue in their most recent accounts, while 17 saw decline and four remained stagnant. RELX, the BBC and Informa topped the list with highest revenues, all posting more than £3.5bn. Most of the accounts (30) cover the 2024 financial year, a period which saw inflation average 2.5% while gross domestic product (GDP, a key measure of the economy) grew by 0.4%. Our ranking is based on the most recent full-year revenue reported by each business. Because not all companies break out their different revenue streams the same way — or at all — the below should be treated as an approximate guide to news media revenue. Press Gazette’s ranking only includes companies with a substantial news media or information element which have reported financial figures for the UK where available. If you spot a company you think is missing, please email alice.brooker@pressgazette.co.uk. The largest single full-year revenue increase came at the BBC, where turnover in 2024 increased by £500m, or 9.3%, compared with 2023. This is a significant improvement on its 2023/24 results, when the broadcaster posted the biggest revenue decline among the top 50 – down £300m compared to 2022/23. It was boosted by growing licence fee and commercial income. The BBC has retained its spot in second place since Press Gazette’s last ranking. News UK saw the biggest revenue decline, down by £86m after posting £641m in its full-year results for 2024/25 (down 11.8% from £727m). The publisher still retained the tenth spot in the ranking. Both DC Thomson and Mergermarket came out as winners in the ranking, jumping four and five spots respectively in the top 50. DC Thomson climbed from 30th place to 26th, having changed its measure of revenue to include new income from its investment portfolio and pension assets. This meant annual revenue increased from £134.5m to £158m. Mergermarket featured higher on the list having reported financial “misstatements” in its financial results for 2023/24 – rising to £131m turnover from £84.2m. Among the top ten, Informa climbed one place to reach third place, while DMGT climbed one to take seventh place. ITV dropped to fourth place (previously third), while Channel 4 dropped by one to eighth place. Claverly, publisher of business and lifestyle titles, dropped six places, the most among the top 50. GB News entered the top 50 ranking for the first time, ranking at 49 with £26.2m in revenue. Some well-known media businesses do not appear on the list either because they did not report revenue in their most recent accounts or recorded too little. The Standard was bumped off the list after recording a 12% drop in revenue to £23.5m, along with a loss of £19.6m before tax. It follows news of its editorial and commercial staff on the website being told they may be transferred to the owner of The Independent (ranking at 41). The Spectator did not feature in the top 50, having posted £19.2m in media revenue versus Hello’s (50th place) £24.5m. The Spectator, which has its accounts overdue on Companies House, placed 50th in the last ranking, but was bumped out after GB News and Metropolis Group re-entered this list. B2B data and intelligence company Merit Group (£17.9m) also missed out on being included in the list. This ranking does not cover tech platforms and social media companies with huge UK media revenue. Global advertising income for Meta (£144bn in 2025) and Alphabet (£217bn in 2025) was significantly larger in 2024 than the cumulative revenue of the entire UK media top 50, £37.5bn. Google is the largest media company in the UK by some margin with advertising revenue alone of at least £20bn a year. Gemini said This blog post breaks down the latest industry shifts based on the Press Gazette’s 2026 Top 50 ranking, analyzed by Alice Brooker. Survival of the Sharpest: What the UK Media’s New Top 50 Means for Your Brand The UK media landscape is proving to be surprisingly resilient. According to the Press Gazette’s latest "Top 50" ranking, just over half of the country’s biggest news media companies grew their turnover year-on-year. Collectively, these giants increased their revenue by £1.1bn, hitting a total of £37.5bn. But behind the billion-pound headlines, a massive shift is occurring in where that money is coming from—and it’s a shift every brand needs to pay attention to. The Heavy Hitters: Data & Scale At the top of the pile, the usual suspects remain dominant, but their growth stories differ: The BBC: Saw the largest single increase, with turnover jumping 9.3% to £5.9bn, fueled by license fee growth and commercial successes. RELX & Informa: These B2B and data-intelligence powerhouses both posted revenues exceeding £3.5bn. The "New" Winners: DC Thomson and Mergermarket both climbed significantly in the ranks (up 4 and 5 spots respectively), proving that niche data and diverse investment portfolios are winning over traditional general interest models. The Casualties of Change It wasn’t good news for everyone. News UK saw a sharp revenue decline of 11.8% (£86m), though it managed to hold onto the 10th spot. Perhaps most tellingly, The Evening Standard was bumped off the list entirely after a 12% drop in revenue and significant pre-tax losses. This highlights a brutal reality: in a world of high "newsflation"—where newspaper cover prices have risen by an average of 10.2% since 2025—the "middle ground" of media is disappearing. What This Means for Brands As a brand, you aren't just a bystander to these numbers; you are a participant in this ecosystem. Here are three key takeaways from the Press Gazette data: 1. The "Platform" vs. "Publisher" Gap is Widening While the UK Top 50 are worth £37.5bn combined, Google, Meta, and Alphabet dwarf them. Meta alone pulled in £144bn globally in 2025. The Brand Lesson: Your ad spend needs to be balanced. While platforms offer reach, the Top 50 media companies offer trust and context. As AI continues to flood the internet with low-quality content, being seen on a "Top 50" news site provides a "halo effect" of credibility that a social feed often lacks. 2. Specialized Data is the New Gold The success of companies like Informa (B2B events and data) and RELX (legal and scientific information) shows that the most profitable media isn't just "news"—it’s utility. The Brand Lesson: Don't just advertise; integrate. Brands that partner with specialized media outlets to provide high-value data or "utilitarian" content will see a higher ROI than those relying on broad-reach "shouty" ads. 3. High Engagement Trumps High Volume Press Gazette’s data shows that while the BBC remains the "popular" king, brands like The Times and The Daily Mail have the most engaged app users. The Brand Lesson: Stop chasing "eyeballs" and start chasing "minutes." A consumer spending 10 minutes on a dedicated news app is far more valuable to your brand than a consumer scrolling past 100 posts in a minute on social media. The Bottom Line: The UK media market is stabilizing, but it is also professionalizing. The winners are those who have moved away from "clicks at all costs" toward high-value data and deep audience engagement. Would you like me to help you draft a social media strategy to align your brand with these high-growth media outlets? You said Create a list of the top 50, giving the name, the brands they own and their total revenue - 1. RELX Top news/information brands: Lexis Nexis, Science Direct Total revenue: £9.6bn News/information/media revenue: £9.6bn Source: Full-year results to December 2025 Previous annual revenue: £9.4bn Previous rank: 1 (unchanged) Multinational information and analytics company RELX reported “strong underlying revenue and profit growth” in 2025, as it retains top position in the biggest media companies ranking. The leading business has become well known for its legal and scientific brands, and also produced underlying revenue growth of 9%. The company’s CEO Erik Engstrom said the company has seen “ongoing growth in exhibitions”, while ensuring print versions of content is available while proactively reducing involvement in print-related activities. Print revenue decreased from £517m in 2024 to £399m in 2025. At the end of 2024, RELX sold Estates Gazette, a B2B magazine and information service covering UK commercial real estate, after 166 years. 2. BBC Top news/information brands: BBC News, BBC Studios, regional radio channels across the UK, various other big-name shows Total revenue: £5.9bn News/information/media revenue: £5.9bn Source: Full-year results to March 2025 Previous annual revenue: £5.4bn Previous rank: 2 (unchanged) The UK’s largest news provider saw group revenue increase by 9% year on year, with its licence fees as the largest source of income. Licence fee income increased year on year, “totalling £3.8 billion in 2024/25 compared to £3.7 billion in 2023/24”, according chief operating officer Leigh Tavaziva. “This was driven by the 6.7% inflationary increase of the price of the licence fee to £169.50,” she added. The BBC saw record growth – up 10% year on year – for its iPlayer service for the year 2024/25, with a total of 8.9 billion streaming requests (the number of times users have accessed content on the platform). BBC’s commercial operation BBC Studios achieved record sales of £2.2bn. 3. Informa Top news/information brands: Ascential, Taylor and Francis, World of Concrete, Cannes Lions festival Total revenue: £3.6bn News/information/media revenue: £3.6bn Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £3.4bn (including recently acquired Ascential) Previous rank: 4 (up one) Business information giant Informa grew revenue by 11.4% to almost £3.6bn in 2024, while adjusted operating profit (excluding certain exceptional costs) grew by 23% on an underlying basis to £995m. Informa said B2B events are being fuelled by the “rising value of face-to-face connections in a digital world” and what it calls the “AI time dividend” as technology gives people more time for “innovation and impact”. 4. ITV Top news/information brands: ITV, Good Morning Britain, This Morning Total revenue: £3.5bn News/information/media revenue: £3.5bn Source: Full-year results to December 2025 Previous annual revenue: £3.5bn Previous rank: 3 (down one) Group external revenue for ITV, as taken for 2025’s ranking, was up 1% in the full year to December 2025. Group total revenue, including revenue generated by intercompany sales, was flat year on year. ITV Studios total revenue saw 5% growth to £2.1bn, reportedly reflecting of demand from streaming. Meanwhile, total advertising revenue was down by 5%. The broadcaster announced in May 2025 that it would make more than 220 redundancies across news, current affairs and other daytime schedulingincluding at Good Morning Britain (which is now being produced by ITV News producer ITN instead of ITV itself), Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women. Its 2025 results referenced its continuing cost-saving programme, with £20m of additional permanent non-content cost savings in 2026 “to create a leaner business”. 5. Bauer Media Group (global) Top news/information brands: Grazia, Empire, Absolute Radio brands Total revenue: €2.2bn (£1.8bn)* News/information/media revenue: €2.2bn (£1.8bn)* Source: Bauer Media factsheet Previous annual revenue: €2.2bn (£1.8bn)* Previous rank: 5 (unchanged) *Private German media conglomerate Bauer Media is the UK’s biggest magazine publisher and seems to have not updated its factsheet since Press Gazette’s previous ranking of biggest companies. In 2025, the family-owned business closed its Modern Garden magazine after almost ten years and ended the print edition for hillwalking title Trail. The co-chief executive at Bauer Media UK Publishing said these decisions “reflect broader market challenges”. Revenue for Bauer UK is not in the public domain, so we have quoted the global figure. UK revenue, while significant, would be lower than this since the family-owned company also has large operations across Europe, Australia and the US. 6. Sky Limited Top news/information brands: Sky News, Sky Sports, Sky Atlantic Total revenue: £10.4bn News/information/media revenue: £1.7bn Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £10.2bn/£1.7bn Previous rank: 6 (unchanged) Sky was set up as British Sky Broadcasting in the 1990s by Rupert Murdoch, and has become the UK’s largest pay-TV broadcaster. The company halved its operating losses in its 2024 accounts, from £224m in 2023 to £112m. It reported content revenue of £529m in 2024, up from £527m in 2023. Advertising revenue fell from £1.2bn to £1.1bn, while direct-to-consumer (i.e. set-top box subscription) revenue was £8.7bn, up from £8.5bn the year before. The increase was attributed to price increases across various revenue streams, as well as higher mobile volumes. Its UK structure was also seen to be “simplified” as Sky Germany and Sky Italy were transferred to a Comcast subsidiary outside of the Sky Group. 7. DMGT Top news/information brands: Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Mail Online, The i, Metro Total revenue: £1.09bn News/information/media revenue: £1.09bn Source: Full-year results to September 2025 Previous annual revenue: £1.11bn Previous rank: 8 (up one) The Daily Mail’s owner DMGT became privately owned in 2022, when Lord Rothermere de-listed the company from the London Stock Exchange. In 2025, the group saw revenue decrease 1% year on year, and print advertising revenues decrease by 3% to £103m, which DMGT said was a “relatively resilient performance” given circulation decline. Digital advertising revenues also decreased by 15% to £148.3m with website traffic “adversely affected by the introduction of AI overviews” “resulting in fewer clickthroughs”. Consumer media revenue at DMGT was down 2% overall year on year to £600m. It has declined 9% in the past three years. In July 2025 DMG Media announced a target of trebling the number of digital subscribers to its Daily Mail products to one million by October 2028. This was followed by an announcement in November 2025 that DMGT has signed an agreement to buy The Telegraph. Press Gazette has found that the deal would enable DMGT to dominate the UK national newspaper market with more than 50% of circulation. 8. Channel 4 Top news/information brands: Channel 4 News, Film 4, E4 Total revenue: £1.04bn News/information/media revenue: £1.04bn Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £1.02bn Previous rank: 7 (down one) Channel 4’s latest full-year results state “positive revenue growth”, up 1% on 2023, “despite macroeconomic, budgetary and political uncertainty continuing to impact the overall size of the TV advertising market”. Linear advertising revenues remained “resilient” (down 1% year on year at £635m; 2023: £642m). The network reported a pre-tax loss of £2m, a “significant £50m improvement” from its loss of £52m in 2023 (which it attributed in part to a 9% fall in UK advertising revenue.). This improvement was driven by increased revenue performance alongside a “sharp focus on non-content costs”, it said. “Non-linear streams” accounted for 39% (up from 37% in 2023) of Channel 4’s revenues (digital advertising made up 30% of this at £306m). This was recognised as a diverse revenue stream, which was considered important in 2024 due to the “the challenging trading environment” and underlying the importance of diversifying Channel 4’s revenues. The Channel launched its Fast Forward strategy in 2024, with an aim to transform into a digital-first public service streamer by 2030. 9. Future Top news/information brands: The Week, Marie Claire, Country Life Total revenue: £739.2m News/information/media revenue: £739.2m Source: Full-year results to September 2025 Previous annual revenue: £788.2m Previous rank: 9 (unchanged) Magazine publisher Future saw revenue drop by 6% year on year in its 2025 results. It recorded flat revenue year on year for its print titles, with these results considered “excellent” given the “declining market” and the “strongest performance” for the category since Covid due to improvement in its subscription business and growth in premium print titles. B2C website sessions were down 10% to 317 million in the year with the women’s and wealth verticals reporting growth, but not enough to offset declines elsewhere. During its 2024/25 financial year, Future underwent a change of leadership, with chief executive Kevin Li Ying joining in March to succeed Jon Steinberg. The company also expanded its paid online content through its tech news and reviews site Tom’s Hardware launching a digital subscriptions product. It recognised a “significant” “opportunity” in monetising its presence across large language models, where its content is already “highly visible for audiences”. 10. News UK Top news/information brands: The Sun, The Times, The Sunday Times, Talksport, Talkradio, TalkTV Total revenue: $862m (£641m) News/information/media revenue: $862m (£641m) Source: Full-year results to June 2025 Previous annual revenue: $933m (£727m) Previous rank: 10 (unchanged) Full-year revenues decreased by 11.8% compared to the prior year, driven by printing revenues being transferred to a joint venture with Daily Mail owner DMG, as well as lower advertising revenues, lower circulation and subscription revenues. In March 2025, News UK recorded losses so far of £138.4m on the failed launch of TalkTV. Figures are reported in dollars as News UK is a subsidiary of US-based News Corp. 11. Auto Trader Group Top news/information brands: Autotrader, Autotrader.com Total revenue: £601.1m News/information/media revenue: £601.1m Source: Full-year results to March 2025 Previous annual revenue: £570.9m Previous rank: 11 (unchanged) Auto Trader’s namesake car classified magazine was established in the 1970s after its founder brought the idea over from the US. The company is now a successful digital marketplace for the auto sector. The site also publishes car reviews and buying advice. Group revenue increased by 5% year on year, with the majority of revenue streaming from retail consumers (£480m, 85%), followed by home traders (£16.1m, 2.9%) and other (£13m, 2.3%) 12. ZPG Top news/information brands: Zoopla, Money.co.uk, Uswitch Total revenue: £527.7m News/information/media revenue: £527.7m Source: Full-year results to December 2024 for parent Zephyr Midco 2 Limited Previous annual revenue: £451.5m Previous rank: 13 (up one) ZPG, owner of Zoopla is part real estate company and part online publisher. In 2009, Zoopla acquired the property website Thinkproperty.com from Guardian Media Group and the Property Finder website from News International (now News Corp). ZPG is a subsidiary of investment firm Silver Lake, which acquired the company in 2018 for £2.2bn. This deal netted £640m for ZPG’s largest investor DMGT and took the company private. In 2025, it was reported that Silver Lake was exploring the potential break up of the group. 13. Reach Top news/information brands: Mirror, Daily Star, Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo Total revenue: £518.4m News/information/media revenue: £518.4m Source: Full-year results to December 2025 Previous annual revenue: £538.6m Previous rank: 12 (down one) During a year that included an announcement of mass layoffs, Reach saw revenue decline 3.7% or £20.2m to £518.4m. Headcount across Reach, which publishes more than 100 newspaper titles, was down 4% compared to a year earlier from 3,579 to 3,423. In September, Reach announced it was cutting its editorial headcount by 186via 321 redundancies and 135 new roles including many in video – although Press Gazette understands the final reduction was less than planned. Major cost cuts helped Reach keep adjusted operating profit up (£104.7m, up 2.4% compared to 2024). Print still comprises 75% of revenue for the UK’s largest commercial news publisher in terms of monthly audience (despite Reach planning to close two out of three of its print production facilities). 14. Financial Times Top news/information brands: Financial Times, ft.com, Sifted.eu Total revenue: £454.6m per UK accounts, £540m globally according to internal figures News/information/media revenue: £454.6m per UK accounts, £540m globally according to internal figures Source: Full-year results to December 2024 and internal figures shared with Press Gazette Previous annual revenue: £443.9m per UK accounts, £510m globally according to internal figures Previous rank: 14 (unchanged) Internal figures shared with Press Gazette showed that global revenue at the Financial Times Group was above half-a-billion pounds for the second time in 2024, growing by 6% to £540m. Global operating profit for the business newsbrand and its wider operations also increased, by 41% to £42.2m in 2024, and revenue growth was seen in paid content and events. However, in UK accounts for Financial Times Ltd published on Companies House, revenue was reported as up by 2% to £454.6m but operating profit down 19% to £7.3m. The title also claimed to see record-paying readership (around 1.5m paying readers, up 6% year on year) and digital-only subscribers in 2024 (reaching more than 1.35 million), and digital content revenues rise by £5.5m (up 3% year on year), events revenue grew more than 4% to £35.7m after a “strong performance in live events”. 15. Global Top news/information brands: LBC, Capital, Heart, Classic FM Total revenue: £898m News/information/media revenue: £431m Source: Full-year results to March 2025 Previous annual revenue: £858.2m/£432.2m Previous rank: 15 (unchanged) Global’s portfolio has built up over recent years with acquisitions of stations including Capital, Heart, LBC and Classic FM. The business is Europe’s largest commercial radio company, and recently added Gary Neville’s sports podcast company to its portfolio. In the year to March 2025, Global’s revenue increased by 4.6%, leading to overall operating profit reaching £95.7m compared to £87.5m in 2023. Highlights of the company’s full-year results included stations LBC, News Agents and LBC News holding extensive election coverage in June 2024, new shows announced for Gold Radio, and becoming the official audio partner of Team GB at Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 16. Rightmove Top news/information brands: Rightmove.com Total revenue: £389.9m News/information/media revenue: £389.9m Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £364.3m Previous rank: 18 (up two) Rightmove operates Rightmove.co.uk, the UK’s leading online real estate property portal. It generates income by listing estate agents on its website and charging for advertising. The company’s revenue was up by 7% compared to 2023, while web traffic increased by 6% to 16.4 billion minutes spent on the site in 2024 (15.4 billion in 2023). 17. Moneysupermarket.com Group Top news/information brands: Moneysupermarket.com, Travel Supermarket, Money Saving Expert Total revenue: £439.2m News/information/media revenue: £389.1m Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £432.1m/£379.8m Previous rank: 16 (down one) Moneysupermarket.com Group began as a mortgage subscription business in the 1980s, eventually evolving into a personal loan and credit card price comparison site. The Group then acquired financial journalist Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert in 2012, a site which repeatedly ranks in the top half of Press Gazette’s monthly top 50 newsbrands by audience. Highlights of 2024 for the Group including the launching of an “improved” MoneySavingExpert Credit Club and additional compare journeys on Quidco. The business also added six brands to platform, leaving the Group with a total of 35 brands, and “rolled out and utilised AI solutions across customer operations”. 18. Yougov Top news/information brands: Yougov Total revenue: £388.9m News/information/media revenue: £388.9m Source: Full-year results to July 2025 Previous annual revenue: £335.3m Previous rank: 19 (up one) Market research and global public opinion polling company Yougov was established in 2000, and conducts polls and surveys on various topics including politics, consumer behaviour and health. The consumer intelligence party climbed the biggest media companies ranking by one after a jump of six in 2025. 19. Economist Group Top news/information brands: The Economist, 1843, Economist Intelligence Unit Total revenue: £368.5m News/information/media revenue: £368.5m Source: Full-year results to March 2025 Previous annual revenue: £367m Previous rank: 17 (down two) Current affairs, politics and business magazine The Economist saw revenue grow by 2% in its 2024-25 results compared to the year prior. Its total subscriptions grew by 3% to 1.25 million versus 2024, while digital subscriptions grew by 8%. Operating profit was up 2% to £48.1m (£47.1m), while core subscription base grew by 32,000, including strong growth among enterprise subscribers. The Economist recently put up a stake of the magazine for sale, with Reuters reporting at least a dozen parties showing preliminary interest in buying the stake, including ultra-wealthy individuals and media companies. 20. Delinian (Euromoney Institutional Investor) Top news/information brands: Euromoney, Institutional Investor, Fastmarkets brands Total revenue: £353.4m News/information/media revenue: £353.4m Source: Full-year results to September 2024 Previous annual revenue: £271.7m Previous rank: 21 (up one) B2B business and financial media and events company Euromoney Institutional Investor was taken over for £1.7bn by a private equity consortium in 2022 and has since rebranded as Delinian. Until 2019, Euromoney was 49% owned by DMGT. The group’s revenue for 2023/24 was “primarily earned from subscriptions to data and business intelligence and from events”. 21. GlobalData Top news/information brands: Proprietary data, news and events across a range of vertical industries including pharmaceuticals, technology and financial services. Total revenue: £322.1m News/information/media revenue: £322.1m Source: Full-year results to December 2025 Previous annual revenue: £285.5m Previous rank: 20 (down one) Data analytics and consulting company GlobalData operates a productivity and intelligence platform that shares propriety insights for multiple sectors. Owner Mike Danson also separately owns The New Statesman and Progressive Media Investments, which publishes Press Gazette. The company’s revenue was up 13% from 2024, which includes some benefits of mergers and acquisitions and occurred whilst navigating “currency headwinds” during the year. Operating profit declined by 25% to £81.2m. 22. Telegraph Media Group Top news/information brands: The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, telegraph.co.uk Total revenue: £279.4m News/information/media revenue: £279.4m Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £268m Previous rank: 22 (unchanged) The Telegraph grew revenue in 2024 despite being in ownership limbo since June 2023. The company spent £18.3m in exceptional costs relating to the takeover in 2023 and a further £12.8m in 2024, taking the total to £31.1m. In November 2024, DMG Media signed an agreement to take over the company, pending approval from the UK government. Digital revenue growth “significantly” outpaced the decline in print, with “sustained growth in digital subscriptions revenue” in 2024 (up 18% to £81.1m). Meanwhile, revenue from digital advertising increased by 19% to £20m. Total subscriptions increased by 5% to over a million. 23. Guardian Media Group Top news/information brands: The Guardian, theguardian.com Total revenue: £275.9m News/information/media revenue: £275.9m Source: Full-year results to March 2025 Previous annual revenue: £257.8m Previous rank: 23 (unchanged) The Guardian managed to return to revenue growth and reduce its losses in its 2024-25 financial year. Its turnover grew by £18.1m (6.7%). Digital revenues from readers, advertisers, and other sources now make up 72% of total turnover, with digital reader revenues increasing by 21.7% to £107.3m (from £88.2m in 2023/24). The Guardian now claims to have 1.3 million recurring paying digital supporters. The company sold The Observer in April last year, which subsequently does not feature in the top 50 media companies by revenue having generated annual revenue of around £16m at the time of the handover. The Observer sale also incurred significant costs, including more than 20 redundancy payouts. 24. STV Group Top news/information brands: STV Central, STV North, Ginger Productions Total revenue: £188m News/information/media revenue: £188m Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £168.4m Previous rank: 27 (up three) Broadcaster STV provides TV broadcasts, video-on-demand and television production. The group’s revenue increased by 11% in the year to December 2024. STV announced in September last year that it plans to merge its Central and North 6pm news programmes, announcing jobs cuts in the process and the launch of a new commercial radio station, STV Radio. 25. Newsquest Top news/information brands: Northern Echo, Lancashire Telegraph, Oxford Mail, The Herald Total revenue: £186.1m News/information/media revenue: £186.1m Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £192m Previous rank: 24 (down one) Newsquest is the second biggest regional media group in the UK, owned by US publishing giant Gannett. Companies House figures for Newsquest Community Media Group, Newsquest Clyde and Forth Press and Newsquest Media Group showed a decline in revenue year on year in 2024. CEO Henry Faure Walker told Press Gazette the company saw paid digital subscriptions at UK regional publishing giant Newsquest have risen from 100,000 to 135,000 in the year to September 2025. By December 2025, this was reported as 145,000. 26. DC Thomson Top news/information brands: Press and Journal, Beano, Stylist, Dundee Courier Total revenue: £184m News/information/media revenue: £184m Source: Full-year results to March 2025 Previous annual revenue: £154m (restated to include new income from its investment portfolio and pension assets) Previous rank: 30 (up four) Publisher of Scottish newspapers and websites DC Thomson climbed five spots after its subscriptions, advertising and cloud services revenues grew, despite reporting flat like-for-like revenue. Like-for-like revenue compared to the previous year was around £134m, due to “challenging market conditions”. It included new income from its investment portfolio and pension assets in its revenue for its 2023/24 results, increasing the figure to £154m. Subscriptions were up by 1% to £41m. The business has now surpassed 50,000 subscribers to its regional news titles. 27. Immediate Media Company Top news/information brands: Good Food magazine, Olive magazine, Radio Times, Top Gear magazine Total revenue: £180.5m News/information/media revenue: £180.5m Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £182m Previous rank: 25 (down two) Immediate Media posted revenue of £180.5m, down £1.5m from £182m, in its full-year accounts to December 2024. However, it has managed to grow its adjusted profit figure from £33m in 2023 to around £36m last year, helped by new revenue streams like podcasts, Apple News/Readly and digital subscriptions. Immediate’s biggest magazine brands, Good Food and Radio Times, are both in Press Gazette’s top-50 ranking of UK websites driven by journalistic content, last posting a monthly UK audience of 11.7 million and 7.3 million respectively according to Ipsos iris. 28. Haymarket Media Group Top news/information brands: More than 70 brands including PR Week, What Car? And Marketing Week Total revenue: £175m News/information/media revenue: £175m Source: Full-year results to June 2025 Previous annual revenue: £183m Previous rank: 24 (down four) B2B publisher, data and events company Haymarket publishes content spanning a number of sectors, including automotive, marketing and communications and healthcare. Its turnover was up 4.4% year on year from £183m. Its reported profit was down nearly 20% as US policies hit pharma advertising in the year to June 30, at £9.3m (down from £11.5m 2024). It acquired Marketing Week and Creative Review from Centaur in September 2025 for £3.9m in cash. 29. Euromonitor International Top news/information brands: Passport, Via Total revenue: £166m News/information/media revenue: £166m Source: Full-year results to March 2025 Previous annual revenue: £173.7m Previous rank: 26 (down three) Euromonitor is one of the world’s best-known market research firms with a global presence. It operates the market research database Passport and e-commerce intelligence platform Via. Customers can purchase reports on industries and geographies of interest to them. 30. Independent Television News (ITN) Top news/information brands: ITV News, Channel 4 News, Channel 5 News Total revenue: £150.7m News/information/media revenue: £150.7m Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £155.9m Previous rank: 28 (down two) ITN produces the daily news programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and 5 in the UK, and in recent years has diversified to produce a wide range of content including documentaries, sports, and advertising. In 2024, the company saw revenue decrease by 3% to £150.7m, which was “largely” attributed to the closure of its sports production division. It also recorded the lowest profit in a decade of £800,000, down from £1.5m the year before. Non-news revenues dropped by 41% year on year, while news revenues increased by 3% to £113.8m. The year also saw ITN sign a deal with blockchain tech company Open Origins that it hopes to use to verify its archival footage as authentic amid the rise of synthetic AI-generated content. 31. Mergermarket Limited Top news/information brands: Mergermarket Total revenue: £131m News/information/media revenue: £131m Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £115.4m Previous rank: 36 (up five) B2B financial news and data brand Mergermarket specialises in information, software, analytics and news focused on financial products, compliance and mergers and acquisitions. While Mergermarket was reported to have posted revenue of £84.2m in 2023 in Press Gazette’s previous ranking, its results for the year 2024 stated that the company made “misstatements” in its previous financials. This has led to the 2023 figure being restated as £115.4m, which increased to £131m in 2024. 32. PA Media Group Top news/information brands: PA Media, Alamy Total revenue: £116.3m News/information/media revenue: £116.3m Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £112.1m Previous rank: 34 (up two) UK national news agency PA Media is owned by national and regional newspaper publishers including DMGT, Reach and Informa. The 156-year-old business itself owns stock photo agency Alamy. PA Media’s accounts for 2024, the first under CEO Emily Shelley, posted revenue growth for the eighth year in a row – marking the highest in its 145-year history. Its revenue was up 3% on 2023’s accounts, however profit before tax was slightly down, by 4% to £8.6m PA Media Group hired Shelley in April 2024, its first change of chief executive in 14 years. 33. Hearst (UK) Top news/information brands: Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Digital Spy, Elle, Women’s Health and Men’s Health Total revenue: £104.6m News/information/media revenue: £104.6m Source: Press Gazette coverage of results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £111.9m Previous rank: 32 (down one) Total revenue at National Magazine Company Ltd (the trading name of Hearst UK) was down 6.5% from £111.9m to £104.6m in the year to December 2024. A second year of traffic turbulence led to what is continued revenue decline for the publisher, while digital advertising revenue declined by £6.5m. This, alongside a 12% decrease in average UK monthly page views to 24.3 million, was attributed to “a number of factors including platform and search engines algorithm changes”. 34. Conde Nast Publications Ltd (UK) Top news/information brands: British Vogue, British GQ, Wired UK, Tatler, The World of Interiors Total revenue: £101.1m News/information/media revenue: £101.1m Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £106.6m Previous rank: 33 (down one) Magazine publisher Conde Nast saw revenue decrease by 5% year on year in 2024, from £106.6m to £101.1m. The company attributed this to its “Vogue World event moving from London to Paris”, losing UK income on this. Advertising and other services were reported as down by 6.7% to £87m, while newsstand and other subscriptions were up by 5.8% to £13.9m. Revenue from recurring events grew by 8% year on year, largely linked to GQ and Conde Nast Traveller. GQ was also mentioned for its 20% increase in social video views. 35. National World Top news/information brands: National World, The Scotsman, The Yorkshire Post and various city sites under the World brand Total revenue: £96m News/information/media revenue: £96m Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £88.4m Previous rank: 35 (unchanged) National World, now named Iconic under its new owner Media Concierge, has 150 regional newsbrands in the UK and Ireland including The Scotsman, Yorkshire Post and Portsmouth News. The company retained its spot in Press Gazette’s top 50 ranking at 35, with revenue was up by 9% to £96m for the group, while digital revenue was up 7% (to £19.6m) and operating profit increased by 19% to £11.2m. Acquisitions and video advertising was said to have fuelled revenue growth. In June 2025, a month after Media Concierge’s takeover, Iconic shut its Freeview TV channel Shots!, calling it an “expensive vanity project” of former boss David Montgomery. 36. LBG Media Top news/information brands: Ladbible, Unilad, Sportbible, Betches, Gaming Bible Total revenue: £92m News/information/media revenue: £92m Source: Full-year results to September 2025 Previous annual revenue: £86.2m Previous rank: 38 (up two) Manchester-based digital media and youth content publisher LBG Media saw revenue increase up by 10% in its full-year accounts in the year to September 2025. The publisher is investing in direct advertising ad sales in the UK and US in 2026 as it relies less on revenue share from tech platforms, with its FY25 direct revenue (a direct relationship with the advertiser to make content for brands to reach young people on social media and LBG websites) making up 54% of the revenue total at LBG. LBG said it expects this share could reach as high as 70%. Its acquisition of Betches Media in 2023 “strengthened the group’s US footprint, expanding reach among millennial and Gen Z female audiences”, it reported, adding its launch of Betches in the UK during 2025 “helped contribute towards doubling the size of the business since acquisition”. 37. Claverly Group Top news/information brands: Business Reporter, Cosmetics Business, weekly magazines and lifestyle titles Total revenue: £83.1m News/information/media revenue: £83.1m Source: Full-year results to December 2024 Previous annual revenue: £113. Gemini said I've created the list of the top UK media companies for you, including their key brands and total revenue as sourced from the Press Gazette data. Extension logo Google Keep Top UK Media Companies by Revenue RELX: Lexis Nexis, Science Direct - £9.6bn BBC: BBC News, BBC Studios, regional radio - £5.9bn Informa: Ascential, Taylor and Francis, Cannes Lions - £3.6bn ITV: ITV, Good Morning Britain, This Morning - £3.5bn Bauer Media Group: Grazia, Empire, Absolute Radio - £1.8bn You said Give me key words for my article, separate with a comma Gemini said To help your blog post rank effectively and reach the right audience, here is a categorized list of keywords based on the Press Gazette 2026 report and current UK media trends. Core Industry Keywords UK media revenue, Press Gazette Top 50, news media rankings 2026, media turnover growth, UK news publishers, media business trends, digital revenue growth, RELX Group, BBC revenue 2026, Informa PLC, ITV Studios, DMGT acquisitions, news media industry analysis. Strategy & Brand Keywords Brand trust, media context, media integration, audience engagement, data intelligence, B2B media utility, advertising ROI, digital transformation, media platforming, niche media strategy, premium content monetization, first-party data. Emerging Trend Keywords AI time dividend, AI search overviews, cookieless world, zero-click searches, newsflation, digital subscriptions, public service streaming, iPlayer growth, media diversification, retail media networks, human-led journalism vs AI. Publication Specifics (For Internal Linking/Tags) News UK decline, The Telegraph sale, The Evening Standard closure, GB News ranking, LBG Media growth, specialized data providers, UK commercial radio revenue, newspaper circulation trends. Would you like me to suggest some "Long-Tail" phrases (full sentences people might search for) to help with your SEO? You said Create a landscape image for my article featuring a busy newsroom. Don't show faces. Gemini said , AI generated Here is a landscape image of a busy newsroom, featuring backs, hands, and screens to ensure no faces are shown as requested. You can use this for your article on hazelroche.com. You said What's the alt text for my image? Gemini said A wide-angle, candid photograph capturing a bustling, modern newsroom in the United Kingdom. Dozens of journalists, editors, and producers are actively working at long rows of cluttered desks, their backs or profiles to the camera. The office is densely populated with glowing computer monitors, keyboards, papers, and diverse equipment. On multiple large screens, headlines are visible, referencing "THE PRESS GAZETTE: TOP 50 REVENUE," "BBC REVENUE JUMPS," and "UK MEDIA: INDUSTRY ANALYSIS." A digital wall display also shows charts and the text "TOP 50 REVENUE DATA" next to UK clocks. Several mounted televisions are broadcasting live news channels (muted) with indistinct graphics. The atmosphere is energetic and focused, illuminated by the collective light of technology and modern office fixtures. The blurred cityscape of London is visible through large windows in the distance. No faces are clearly visible.

UK Media Top 50 

According to the Press Gazette’s latest Top 50 ranking, just over half of the  biggest news media companies in the UK grew their turnover year-on-year. Collectively, these giants increased their revenue by £1.1bn, hitting a total of £37.5bn.

Behind the billion-pound headlines, a massive shift is occurring in where that money is coming from – and it’s a shift every brand needs to pay attention to.

Data and Scale

At the top of the pile, the usual suspects remain dominant, but their growth stories differ.

The BBC saw the largest single increase, with turnover jumping 9.3% to £5.9bn, fuelled by license fee growth and commercial successes.

B2B and data-intelligence powerhouses RELX and Informa both posted revenues exceeding £3.5bn.

DC Thomson and Mergermarket both climbed significantly in the ranks (up four and five spots respectively), proving that niche data and diverse investment portfolios are winning over traditional general interest models.

The Casualties of Change

The Press Gazette’s Top 50 wasn’t good news for everyone. News UK saw a sharp revenue decline of 11.8% (£86m), though it managed to hold onto the 10th spot. Perhaps most tellingly, The Evening Standard was bumped off the list entirely after a 12% drop in revenue and significant pre-tax losses.

This highlights a brutal reality – in a world of high newsflation where newspaper cover prices have risen by an average of 10.2% since 2025 – the middle ground of media is disappearing.

What This Means for Brands

As a brand, you are a participant in this ecosystem. 

In my opinion, here are three key takeaways from the Press Gazette data:

1. The Platform vs. Publisher Gap is Widening

While the UK Top 50 are worth £37.5bn combined, Google, Meta and Alphabet dwarf them. Meta alone pulled in £144bn globally in 2025. As a brand, your ad spend needs to be balanced. While platforms offer reach, the Top 50 media companies offer trust and context. As AI continues to flood the internet with low-quality content, being seen on a Top 50 news site provides a halo effect of credibility that a social feed often lacks.

2. Specialised Data is the New Gold

The success of companies like Informa (B2B events and data) and RELX (legal and scientific information) shows that the most profitable media isn’t just news, it’s utility. For brands, the lesson here is don’t just advertise, integrate. Brands that partner with specialised media outlets to provide high-value data or utilitarian content will see a higher ROI than those relying on broad-reach shouty ads.

3. High Engagement Trumps High Volume

Press Gazette’s data shows that while the BBC remains the popular king, brands like The Times and The Daily Mail have the most engaged app users. For brands, the message is stop chasing eyeballs and start chasing minutes. A consumer spending 10 minutes on a dedicated news app is far more valuable to your brand than a consumer scrolling past 100 posts in a minute on social media.

The UK media market is stabilising, but it is also professionalising. The winners are those who have moved away from clicks at all costs toward high-value data and deep audience engagement.

Top 25 UK Media Companies by Revenue

  1. RELX: Lexis Nexis, Science Direct – £9.6bn
  2. BBC: BBC News, BBC Studios, regional radio – £5.9bn
  3. Informa: Ascential, Taylor and Francis, Cannes Lions – £3.6bn
  4. ITV: ITV, Good Morning Britain, This Morning – £3.5bn
  5. Bauer Media Group: Grazia, Empire, Absolute Radio – £1.8bn
  6. Sky Limited: Sky News, Sky Sports, Sky Atlantic – £1.7bn (Media) / £10.4bn (Total)
  7. DMGT: Daily Mail, Mail Online, The i, Metro – £1.09bn
  8. Channel 4: Channel 4 News, Film 4, E4 – £1.04bn
  9. Future: The Week, Marie Claire, Country Life – £739.2m
  10. News UK: The Sun, The Times, Talksport – £641m ($862m)
  11. Auto Trader Group: Autotrader, Autotrader.com – £601.1m
  12. ZPG: Zoopla, Money.co.uk, Uswitch – £527.7m
  13. Reach: Mirror, Daily Star, Manchester Evening News – £518.4m
  14. Financial Times: Financial Times, ft.com, Sifted.eu – £454.6m (UK) / £540m (Global)
  15. Global: LBC, Capital, Heart, Classic FM – £431m (Media) / £898m (Total)
  16. Rightmove: Rightmove.com – £389.9m
  17. Moneysupermarket.com Group: Money Saving Expert, Travel Supermarket – £389.1m (Media) / £439.2m (Total)
  18. Yougov: Yougov – £388.9m
  19. Economist Group: The Economist, 1843, EIU – £368.5m
  20. Delinian: Euromoney, Institutional Investor – £353.4m
  21. GlobalData: Proprietary data, news and events – £322.1m
  22. Telegraph Media Group: The Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph – £279.4m
  23. Guardian Media Group: The Guardian, theguardian.com – £275.9m
  24. STV Group: STV Central, STV North, Ginger Productions – £188m
  25. 25.Newsquest: Northern Echo, Lancashire Telegraph, Oxford Mail – £186.1m

I work with businesses across the East Midlands on content, PR and marketing that actually drives growth. If you’d like a no-obligation conversation about where to start, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch at hazelroche.com.

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