As Google’s AI Overviews threaten to chip away at publishers’ search traffic, The Sun is betting big on something harder to displace: original long-form video. Over the past nine months, video’s share of the publisher’s digital revenue has nearly doubled, climbing from 9 percent in January to 18 percent today, as advertisers shift spend into premium formats, according to the publisher.
A decent chunk of that surge comes straight from its Originals slate — The Sun’s bid to turn long-form digital video formats into signature franchises that keep viewers watching for longer, and later scale globally.
So far, 15 shows have launched since January, while seven new shows will launch over the next eight weeks. Approximately 50 people now work on Originals content, with headcount set to rise, according to The Sun’s director of video Jon Lloyd. In total, the shows have generated more than 113 million views across platforms, including YouTube, in the last eight months, he said.
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