Case Study

Optimizing Total Revenue at iNews with Piano’s Ad Revenue Insights and Dynamic Paywall

Leveraging real-time data, unified solutions and strategies to drive subscription and ad revenue growth.

Case Study

Optimizing Total Revenue at iNews with Piano’s Ad Revenue Insights and Dynamic Paywall

Leveraging real-time data, unified solutions and strategies to drive subscription and ad revenue growth.

Case Study

Optimizing Total Revenue at iNews with Piano’s Ad Revenue Insights and Dynamic Paywall

Leveraging real-time data, unified solutions and strategies to drive subscription and ad revenue growth.

About iNews

dmgMedia, a leading UK consumer media group, manages several high-profile publications. Launched in 2010, iNews has grown rapidly, earning the title of Britain’s most-trusted digital news brand in 2016. Partnering with Piano, iNews has utilized advanced tools like propensity modeling to drive subscription growth. 


dmgMedia, a leading UK consumer media group, manages several high-profile publications. Launched in 2010, iNews has grown rapidly, earning the title of Britain’s most-trusted digital news brand in 2016. Partnering with Piano, iNews has utilized advanced tools like propensity modeling to drive subscription growth. 


About iNews

About iNews

dmgMedia, a leading UK consumer media group, manages several high-profile publications. Launched in 2010, iNews has grown rapidly, earning the title of Britain’s most-trusted digital news brand in 2016. Partnering with Piano, iNews has utilized advanced tools like propensity modeling to drive subscription growth. 


Key Results



Key Results

Key Results


+9%

in Paywall Revenue

+28%

in Ad Impressions Per Pageview

+21%

Ad Revenue Per Page

+28%

Paywall Efficiency*

*Decrease in paywall impressions per pageview 

Harry Fawkes, Head of Subscriptions at Harmsworth Media, shares how Ad Revenue Insights and Dynamic Paywall was implemented and the impact it has had on iNews subscription and ad revenue.

The challenge

iNews wanted to optimize total revenue, while aligning and improving the efforts of subscription, content and advertising teams to achieve maximum revenue without compromising the user experience. 

iNews wanted to optimize total revenue, while aligning and improving the efforts of subscription, content and advertising teams to achieve maximum revenue without compromising the user experience. 

The challenge

The challenge

iNews wanted to optimize total revenue, while aligning and improving the efforts of subscription, content and advertising teams to achieve maximum revenue without compromising the user experience. 

Our approach

In 2023, dmgMedia adopted Piano's Ad Revenue Insights (ARI) to optimize total revenue by integrating advertising and subscription strategies. 

In 2023, dmgMedia adopted Piano's Ad Revenue Insights (ARI) to optimize total revenue by integrating advertising and subscription strategies. 

Our approach

Our approach

In 2023, dmgMedia adopted Piano's Ad Revenue Insights (ARI) to optimize total revenue by integrating advertising and subscription strategies. 

Initially, the iNews subscriptions team faced concerns from the programmatic advertising team regarding the impact of the paywall on ad revenue. Their worry was that the paywall was interfering with the display of ad units, reducing viewability and ad inventory, resulting in lower programmatic ad revenue. Using ARI, they demonstrated that ad revenue was unaffected by the paywall, fostering alignment between the advertising and subscription teams. Weekly meetings now ensure both teams work together to maximize total revenue. 

Organizational Change and Unified Metrics

Initially, the iNews subscriptions team faced concerns from the programmatic advertising team regarding the impact of the paywall on ad revenue. Their worry was that the paywall was interfering with the display of ad units, reducing viewability and ad inventory, resulting in lower programmatic ad revenue. Using ARI, they demonstrated that ad revenue was unaffected by the paywall, fostering alignment between the advertising and subscription teams. Weekly meetings now ensure both teams work together to maximize total revenue. 

Organizational Change and Unified Metrics

Initially, the iNews subscriptions team faced concerns from the programmatic advertising team regarding the impact of the paywall on ad revenue. Their worry was that the paywall was interfering with the display of ad units, reducing viewability and ad inventory, resulting in lower programmatic ad revenue. Using ARI, they demonstrated that ad revenue was unaffected by the paywall, fostering alignment between the advertising and subscription teams. Weekly meetings now ensure both teams work together to maximize total revenue. 

Organizational Change and Unified Metrics

Before implementing ARI, generating subscription and advertising reports was a lengthy process, often taking over a week to produce inaccurate data. ARI enabled iNews to pull real-time reports, allowing the subscription and ads teams to make quick, informed decisions. This efficiency was crucial in implementing timely strategies and seeing immediate results unlike other tools on the market. 

Faster Decision-Making with Real-Time Reports

Before implementing ARI, generating subscription and advertising reports was a lengthy process, often taking over a week to produce inaccurate data. ARI enabled iNews to pull real-time reports, allowing the subscription and ads teams to make quick, informed decisions. This efficiency was crucial in implementing timely strategies and seeing immediate results unlike other tools on the market. 

Faster Decision-Making with Real-Time Reports

Before implementing ARI, generating subscription and advertising reports was a lengthy process, often taking over a week to produce inaccurate data. ARI enabled iNews to pull real-time reports, allowing the subscription and ads teams to make quick, informed decisions. This efficiency was crucial in implementing timely strategies and seeing immediate results unlike other tools on the market. 

Faster Decision-Making with Real-Time Reports

With 20% of their readers from outside the UK, iNews initially saw potential for international subscriptions. However, ARI data revealed that these readers were more valuable for ad revenue rather than subscriptions. Consequently, iNews loosened the paywall for international audiences, focusing on high ad revenue while recognizing the need for a distinct content strategy if they were to pursue international subscriptions. 

Strategic Planning for International Audiences

With 20% of their readers from outside the UK, iNews initially saw potential for international subscriptions. However, ARI data revealed that these readers were more valuable for ad revenue rather than subscriptions. Consequently, iNews loosened the paywall for international audiences, focusing on high ad revenue while recognizing the need for a distinct content strategy if they were to pursue international subscriptions. 

Strategic Planning for International Audiences

With 20% of their readers from outside the UK, iNews initially saw potential for international subscriptions. However, ARI data revealed that these readers were more valuable for ad revenue rather than subscriptions. Consequently, iNews loosened the paywall for international audiences, focusing on high ad revenue while recognizing the need for a distinct content strategy if they were to pursue international subscriptions. 

Strategic Planning for International Audiences

iNews used Piano’s dynamic paywall to integrate content propensity, user propensity and advertising data into a single model. Initially, the newsroom manually locked premium content to meet subscription goals, but with the dynamic paywall, they identified high-conversion articles and adjusted locking strategies in real-time. By scaling back the metered paywall and relying on the dynamic paywall, iNews effectively balanced user access and revenue growth. This approach not only increased paywall efficiency, revenue, ad impressions per pageview and ad revenue per pageview, but also allowed the newsroom to improve content strategies based on subscription conversions and ad revenue data.  The dynamic paywall acted as an early indicator, helping the newsroom to identify which articles to lock, focus on the distribution of that content, and refine their content strategy. Additionally, iNews used ARI to identify customers less likely to subscribe and exposed them to ads over the paywall, maximizing both subscriptions and ad revenue.   

Balancing Ad Revenue Growth with User Experience

iNews used Piano’s dynamic paywall to integrate content propensity, user propensity and advertising data into a single model. Initially, the newsroom manually locked premium content to meet subscription goals, but with the dynamic paywall, they identified high-conversion articles and adjusted locking strategies in real-time. By scaling back the metered paywall and relying on the dynamic paywall, iNews effectively balanced user access and revenue growth. This approach not only increased paywall efficiency, revenue, ad impressions per pageview and ad revenue per pageview, but also allowed the newsroom to improve content strategies based on subscription conversions and ad revenue data.  The dynamic paywall acted as an early indicator, helping the newsroom to identify which articles to lock, focus on the distribution of that content, and refine their content strategy. Additionally, iNews used ARI to identify customers less likely to subscribe and exposed them to ads over the paywall, maximizing both subscriptions and ad revenue.   

Balancing Ad Revenue Growth with User Experience

iNews used Piano’s dynamic paywall to integrate content propensity, user propensity and advertising data into a single model. Initially, the newsroom manually locked premium content to meet subscription goals, but with the dynamic paywall, they identified high-conversion articles and adjusted locking strategies in real-time. By scaling back the metered paywall and relying on the dynamic paywall, iNews effectively balanced user access and revenue growth. This approach not only increased paywall efficiency, revenue, ad impressions per pageview and ad revenue per pageview, but also allowed the newsroom to improve content strategies based on subscription conversions and ad revenue data.  The dynamic paywall acted as an early indicator, helping the newsroom to identify which articles to lock, focus on the distribution of that content, and refine their content strategy. Additionally, iNews used ARI to identify customers less likely to subscribe and exposed them to ads over the paywall, maximizing both subscriptions and ad revenue.   

Balancing Ad Revenue Growth with User Experience

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