Financial Times

Performance indicators

As of July 2015, the average daily number of Financial Times readers in the world is about 2.2 million people. The number of paid Internet subscribers is more than 500 thousand people. At the end of 2014, the circulation of the Financial Times increased by 10%, to 720 thousand copies.

History

2015: Japan's Nikkei buys FT Group from Pearson

In July 2015, the British media group Pearson PLC announced the sale of the Japanese corporation Nikkei to the FT Group. The deal is worth £844 million ($1.32 billion), Pearson said. The agreement applies to a paper newspaper, the website of the Financial Times and The Banker and Investors Chronicle, but does not include London property owned by the FT Group, and a 50 percent stake in The Economist^[1].

The deal will also affect the Financial Times' stake in the Russian business newspaper Vedomosti. At this time, FT is a co-founder of Vedomosti and owns 33.3% of the publication's shares. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Rumors about a possible sale of the Financial Times have been circulating in the media market for many years. Possible buyers at one time were both American Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters. The starting point for finding a new owner was the departure of former Pearson chief executive Marjorie Skardino, who led the holding for more than 16 years. She has repeatedly stated that she considers it necessary to keep the Financial Times as part of the holding. But after Skardino left, John Fallon, who previously headed the unit responsible for producing educational literature, took her place.

The German holding Axel Springer also wanted to acquire one of the leading business publications in the world. The fact that negotiations are underway with him was reported at the end of July 2015 by the Financial Times itself, while it was noted that the German holding in the negotiations moved much further than its Japanese competitors. A few hours after this news, official information appeared that it was the Japanese Nikkei that would become the next owner of the Financial Times.

2013: Electronic Application Development Strategy

In a lecture in April 2013 in Moscow, Andrew Betts, director and founder of FT Labs, presents the Financial Times experience in mastering various channels for distributing newspaper and magazine products, creating paid access to content on the Internet and mobile applications based on html-5 technology, which are capable of working offline and do not require publication in the App Store.

"Protocol and technology should not create barriers to content distribution. The magazine product is not comparable to social media interactions. We're looking for ways to keep journalism as a rare and valuable craft, "says Andrew Betts

2011: Apple removes FT app from Appstore

In September 2011, it became known that Apple removed the Financial Times apps for iPhones and iPads from Appstore after the newspaper refused to give it 30% of revenue and share user data^[2]. Thus, the two-month confrontation between the companies ended. In June, Apple relaxed its in-app subscription terms for its devices, removing pricing restrictions and the requirement to offer an in-app subscription if the publication sells it on its website. But at the same time, Apple retained the ban on redirecting the user to the publication's website for subscribing bypassing Apple. Despite this, in FT apps, redirection remained beyond June 30, Apple's developer deadline.

According to FT CEO John Ridding, the publication was not satisfied not so much with commissions as with Apple's control over user data, which actually tears content producers away from its consumers. The companies had been negotiating terms of subscription and access to user data for several months, but an agreement could not be reached.

"FT apps for iPad and iPhone are no longer available to new users through iTunes. We invite our readers to use the new web application available at app.ft.com, "the publication's website says

Access to FT materials via the web interface for Apple device owners costs from $5 to $7.5 per week. Previously installed FT applications for Apple devices will continue to work, but without the possibility of updating.

According to the BBC, FT manager for online products and new technologies Stephen Pinches, he believes in the future of web applications, and "the main reason for launching the app.ft.com was the cost and impracticality of supporting individual applications for each platform." According to him, the FT web application will work on Android, PlayBook, WebOS and other operating systems this year, and this is "the most logical and strategically correct approach."

The choice between developing a specialized application for Apple devices and a similar-to-functionality universal web application based on the new HTML5 standard is noticeably shifting towards the latter, at least for large market players, writes technology blog Memeburn. Besides the FT, the web model runs Amazon, a direct competitor to Apple that simply can't afford to pay a 30% commission, and Walmart has both versions. Recently there were rumors that the web application will launch Facebook as well.

According to The Telegraph, in the first half of 2011, the Financial Times received a quarter of its revenues on the Internet, with mobile applications bringing it 22% of traffic and 15% of new subscriptions. In total, more than 220,000 people signed up for online subscriptions to the Financial Times; in 2010, revenue from the sale of online content increased by 47%.

The Telegraph believes the FT's losses from its break with Apple will be sensitive (see first half 2011 performance above). The FT does not refuse to sell other programs through Appstore, which are sold under a non-subscription model. We are talking, for example, about FT Travel funded by advertising and How to Spend It launched in September.

1995: Launch of the website

In 1995, the newspaper's website was launched.

1957: Pearson Holding acquires Financial Times

In 1957, Pearson Media Holding acquired the Financial Times.

1893: Switching to printing on grey and pink sheets

In 1893, publishers came up with a distinctive feature for the newspaper - to print it on gray-pink sheets, this practice continues to this day.

1888: Newspaper Publication Starts

The Financial Times has been published since 1888. Then it was placed on only four newspaper sheets.

Notes