Independent Media last week reported a strong first half of the financial year as it announces that AI projects now contribute 10 per cent of all revenue.
The company says it has seen a surge in the growth of AI and Studio – its creator and talent-led video and podcast business – with both AI and Studio revenues set to grow by over 60 per cent year-on-year.
Its four growth pillars of the business, which also include Ecommerce and US expansion, now represent more than 60 per cent of all company revenue, says the publisher. The growth rates come before Independent Media starts on a new strategic investment programme to accelerate its transformation.
The results reflect the focus and commitment placed on these areas of the business by Christian Broughton, its chief executive, and John Paton, its chairman who will be stepping down on 30 September after seven years, while Christian continues in his role as CEO.
Under their leadership, the company has doubled its revenue – a feat unrivalled across the industry, the publisher continued - and experienced nearly a decade of unprecedented growth, with Independent Media achieving record revenue of £53.2m in its most recent full-year accounts (2024. This was an increase of £7.1m (15%), and an operating profit of £3.2m. Results for 2025, which show further increases, will be published soon. Independent Media says it has achieved consistent revenue growth of 13% CAGR since the start of John Paton’s Chairmanship in 2019.
At a time when many media companies are facing considerable challenges, this year marks its 10th consecutive year of growth and profit since The Independent closed its print operations, with the figures for the first half of this year indicating the upward trajectory is set to continue.
Earlier this month, Chris Anthony was appointed as president, North America, to oversee Independent Media's North American business. He will report to Christian Broughton as they implement plans to drive revenue growth in the region.
In the UK, the company reached a partnership agreement in March this year to take on the digital operations of The Standard to further widen its global reach.
Working closely with Christian, John Paton has been a staunch supporter of the digital transformation that saw Independent Media’s stable of UK brands incorporate BuzzFeed, Tasty and HuffPost in a landmark deal made in 2024.
This created a multi-brand network with a combined audience totalling half of all British consumers, with the global reach now on average 650 million users each month, and 1.1 billion content views worldwide across all brands and platforms.
Independent Studio was only created last year, but it is already achieving impressive results with the growth driven high-calibre, creator-led content, added Independent Media. In The Room broke into the top 10 of all UK current affairs podcasts after 12 episodes, and ACFC is one of the UK's fastest-growing football analysis YouTube channels, with over 200,000 subscribers.
Another recently launched service, Bulletin, which provides an AI-enabled news summary, has played a major role in driving the financial contribution of AI to the business.
Christian Broughton, chief executive of Independent Digital News Media, added: “John’s commercial nous, business acumen and wise counsel have been invaluable as we’ve struck major partnerships, grown our global audience and strengthened our financial position.
“Innovation and quality journalism have been at the heart of what we’ve overseen together and I’m excited by the opportunities we have identified to continue our growth, doubling down on the core pillars of the strategy that John and I have worked on together. I would like to thank him for his support, guidance and above all, friendship over the past seven years.”
John Paton, outgoing chairman of Independent Digital News Media, said: “I want to thank Christian for his innovation and the dedication and the energy he has brought to running The Independent. Its success largely lies with him and the team. I want to thank the shareholders for the opportunity. It’s been an honour.”
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