August 7, 2025
Bloomberg Media CEO, Karen Saltser, sent the following memo to Bloomberg Media employees:
Team,
We’re at a key inflection point in the fiscal year – a moment to recap Bloomberg Media’s growth and also focus on a strong finish. Every day, we deliver vital news, insights, context and connections to business and government decision makers; partner with brands and entities eager to reach this highly desirable audience – and drive important value for Bloomberg LP. To be effective, this formula requires you to be smart, driven professionals who take a complex world and package it simply and powerfully to 100 million people. Thank you.
As we’ve tracked various industry earnings season reports recently, I’m pleased to share Bloomberg Media’s growth. Through H1 2025 (Jan-June), we’ve delivered:
- +7% YoY increase in total revenue
- +6% YoY growth in cross-platform audience
- +16% YoY growth in paying subscribers across digital and print
One year ago, we green-lit an enhanced commitment to accelerate the growth of our subscriptions business, focusing on opportunities across product, engineering, editorial, marketing and group sales. That investment is paying off. Year-over-year, we’re up +8% in subscriptions revenue and have added nearly 100,000 new paying subscribers – taking our total count to more than 660,000. The scaling and maintenance of this area demands a diverse and ambitious approach to acquisition, engagement and retention. We moved many of our newsletters behind the paywall over the last year, launched 30 new ones in that time and grew to 3 million unique monthly newsletter subscribers, up +26% YoY. Award-winning director, Brady Corbet directed a compelling brand campaign called The Contextualist. Pointed, our quiz for risk-takers, launched in March. Bloomberg Weekend has hit its stride with thought-provoking (and beautifully designed) pieces, improving the number of visitors to our site and app on the weekend. And Businessweek celebrated its one year anniversary as a monthly print magazine in June, while still delivering digital articles at the top of our charts for user-to-subscriber conversion rates.
In addition to the impact on subscription revenue, this sustained group of deeply-engaged consumers bring true value to the advertisers who spend with us. On that note, we saw a +6% rebound in total advertising (core advertising + events sponsorship) globally. Core advertising grew 3%, driven by partner interest in all of our products
- +3% increase in video – a robust offense across linear, digital + streaming
- +12% boost in display (Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg app, print)
- +15% rise in audio advertising, with podcasts soaring by 40%
Events revenue alone increased +19%. Our live experiences business is a strategic extension of Bloomberg LP – attracting and engaging the world’s most influential leaders, from heads of state and CEOs to asset allocators and policy shapers. The flagship Bloomberg New Economy Forum, with an exceptional new advisory board and co-chairs, will put our strength as a convener on full-display again during the seventh edition in November.
We’ve continued doubling down on resources and programming internationally, providing the right market-specific content for our teams to sell. Our core markets — North America (+7%) and Europe (+30%) – as well as growth markets such as the Middle East & Africa (8%) grew in H1. APAC, which was slower to grow in the first half, is showing good momentum in Q3/H2, with accelerated pacing and bookings to close the year.
All of this H1 advertising & sponsorship momentum is underpinned by core clients in the financial sector and growth from clients in areas such as tech and consulting. Last year, we realigned the global sales teams by category in each region to deepen our expertise and simplify collaboration with key accounts and that’s showing positive results. We’ve also grown through impactful events like Bloomberg House at Davos, Invest (NY and Hong Kong) and the fifth annual Qatar Economic Forum, which brought together 3,500 delegates for high value connections and market-moving news.
Additionally, as we build through H2 and into 2026, we’ve produced a number of major client marketing events to highlight key inventory, franchises and journalistic talent. Five “Look Ahead” upfront events took place in New York, London, Manila, Sydney and Tokyo, and Cannes Lions gave us another chance to connect with influential CMOs and CEOs on The Croisette and around The Executive Table.
The audience is at the heart of all this, demonstrating how our reach and influence continue to grow. As stated earlier, our average monthly users across all platforms grew by 6% year-over-year, and our overall audience exceeds 100 million. Total audio listeners are up 64% overall, with podcasts growing 68%. Odd Lots, which has been featured prominently in the mainstream news lately, is both our most downloaded podcast and highest revenue generator among them.
Video in particular remains a powerful differentiator for us, with average monthly viewers climbing to over 60 million – a 16% increase year-over-year. Overall video hours watched are up a remarkable 34%. From tariff coverage to DeepSeek’s breakthrough and beyond, the newsroom and production teams gave viewers the live news, original series & and short-form video they needed – wherever they chose to consume it. In addition to digital and linear reach, we now have 45 global streaming partners for Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Originals.
Surveillance and Balance of Power have been a must-see when it comes to White House and Fed decisions. Two new state-of-the-art broadcast studios opened in Seoul and Mumbai. We unveiled Bloomberg Technology series in both Asia and Europe and a rebrand for the U.S. edition. A number of new Bloomberg Originals series seasons premiered, including The Circuit and The Deal. The film, Can’t Look Away continues to prompt meaningful conversation with audiences, showing in UK cinemas this month and continuing on Jolt. And we celebrated two News & Documentary Emmys for Bloomberg Investigates and The Future with Hannah Fry.
Remember: this work didn’t start in January 2025. It started this time last year with ambitious goals, strategic planning and an honest look at where to put our energy and resources. Our daily focus must remain on creating engaging products and content for decision makers, building sustained relationships with our audience and clients and delivering a pipeline for growth that benefits all of Bloomberg.
Thank you for everything you do to make Bloomberg Media a trusted and necessary resource in this very competitive and challenging industry. Your work moves the leaders who move business, the markets and the world.
Karen