As Google’s AI Overviews threaten to chip away at publishers’ search visitors, The Solar is betting large on one thing tougher to displace: authentic long-form video. Over the previous 9 months, video’s share of the writer’s digital income has practically doubled, climbing from 9 p.c in January to 18 p.c at present, as advertisers shift spend into premium codecs, in accordance with the writer.
A good chunk of that surge comes straight from its Originals slate — The Solar’s bid to show long-form digital video codecs into signature franchises that preserve viewers looking ahead to longer, and later scale globally.
To date, 15 exhibits have launched since January, whereas seven new exhibits will launch over the following eight weeks. Roughly 50 individuals now work on Originals content material, with headcount set to rise, in accordance with The Solar’s director of video Jon Lloyd. In complete, the exhibits have generated greater than 113 million views throughout platforms, together with YouTube, within the final eight months, he mentioned.
Of the 18 p.c video development, 5 p.c is Originals content material, in accordance with Owen Griffiths, business income director at The Solar. Whereas The Solar’s father or mother Information Corp doesn’t get away title-specific advert revenues, complete income for The Solar in 2024 was £296.3 million ($404 million).
“We’ve began to draw new purchasers which have by no means used us in a digital capability earlier than [for Originals integrated sponsorships], like M&S and Card Manufacturing unit,” mentioned Griffiths. “It’s a major quantity of development from a standing begin and factors to the place we’re getting in future,” he mentioned.
Discovering the suitable versatile codecs
If the final pivot to video (circa 2016-2018) was about chasing platform algorithms, this newest wave is about constructing sponsor-integrated, editorially rooted codecs that may journey throughout platforms and get up whilst AI and search reshape visitors flows.
The writer has targeted on two particular content material verticals for Originals commissioning: sports activities and Fabulous — its girls’s trend, magnificence and way of life model. To fulfill rising demand for deeper advertiser integration into brand-safe content material, the information model has been restructuring its channels throughout YouTube and its different social channels like TikTok to separate tougher information from sponsor-friendly content material, in accordance with Lloyd.
“There are three issues it [Originals shows] has to hit: it’s acquired to be editorially spot on for our viewers, and [help] construct massively loyal communities; be model protected and have business viability. And it’s acquired to be constructed for integration — that bit is essential now,” mentioned Lloyd.
Format franchises are being inbuilt a versatile, modular approach in order that manufacturers might be simply built-in into the conversations and subjects lined, pressured Lloyd.
Six sponsors have helped monetize six of the 15 Originals exhibits produced to date, together with its weekly video podcast Fabulous’ “No Parental Steerage,” which has attracted 7 million viewers and is sponsored by Card Manufacturing unit.
The present is hosted by mother influencers Louise Boyce and Hannah East, who share candid and humorous takes on a number of the unvarnished truths about parenting. It options visitor stars, like TV presenter Davina McCall, who will function in subsequent week’s episode, and fan suggestions and commentary usually decide the subjects for the following exhibits.
The Fabulous model faucets exterior expertise and influencers for about 75% of its content material, whereas for sport, it’s extra 70 p.c inner workers, added Lloyd.
From the sports activities slate: “From The Sportdesk,” is a set of ladies’s rugby specials backed by the Nationwide Lottery operator, and “No Gloves Misplaced & Cut up Choice” is its boxing evaluation franchise, now sponsored by sports activities leisure platform DAZN.
The objective is to make use of its editorial groups’ subject experience to construct engaged communities round these exhibits, which might then be commercialized.
“Making video in isolation doesn’t make sense at The Solar,” mentioned Lloyd. Greater than 90% of the 250 daily-produced movies, together with Originals, have accompanying articles with the video embedded, he mentioned. “Then we’ve acquired 155 channels throughout 9 platforms, the place we will unfold it out, which all drive again to the hero product, which is the video, however it’s additionally serving to the journalism,” mentioned Lloyd. The Solar claims a complete 45 million subscribers throughout 190 channels in complete.
Laura Smith, digital director at EssenceMediacom, mentioned if it has advertiser purchasers whose viewers aligns with The Solar’s, then model integrations turn out to be a compelling providing, given they provide a “deeper and extra contextual connection” with an viewers than adjoining pre-rolls or mid-rolls. “In a market the place the vast majority of model integrations are both pricey via broadcast suppliers or by way of UGC/influencers, this stands out as a novel method to promote our consumer’s services and products via a longtime and trusted model,” she mentioned.
The Solar is the biggest UK newspaper on YouTube with 6 million subscribers, in accordance with Enders Evaluation’ YouTube and Journalism: the Information Frontier Report printed in February. It will have been aided by two elements: first mover benefit (The Solar’s foremost channel was established in 2007, vs the Mail in 2012 or the Guardian in late 2014); and its add frequency — the Solar posted 12 occasions a day within the interval Enders reviewed the writer, largely targeted on warfare in Ukraine, UK poliitcs, crime footage and the British royal household. Originals marks its concerted push to broaden into different genres for video, mentioned Enders’ senior analysis analyst Abi Watson.
“With declining visibility in search, social video goes to turn out to be a extra vital touchpoint,” mentioned Watson. “In June, roughly a 3rd of the key phrases the Solar ranked for in Sistrix’s dataset triggered a Google AI Overview, and that determine has probably gone up since,” she mentioned.
North star in AI-driven period: CTV and video development and deeper reader engagement
Solar Originals’ early business traction arrives at a second when publishers’ search referrals are weakening beneath Google’s AI Overviews and rival AI engines. In its Q1 2025 earnings outcomes, Information UK father or mother shared that The Solar‘s digital providing noticed international month-to-month distinctive customers drop 40% 12 months over 12 months to 80 million in September 2024, from 134 million a 12 months earlier. It didn’t cite the direct trigger.
The end result: publishers are being extra assertive about prioritizing their owned and operated ecosystems and deepening reader engagement. “If you concentrate on the downgrades everyone seems to be seeing in referral visitors, each usually, from the way in which Google and Meta deal with information content material, to the approaching of AI search and what that might imply for a way individuals uncover content material, having our personal ecosystem might be vital,” added Griffiths. Which means leaning significantly into innovation by itself app surroundings, he added.
In the meanwhile, nevertheless, scale remains to be crucial for its advertisers, making its attain throughout YouTube and different social viewing platforms a crucial a part of its content material and income technique.
The writer will launch 5 new YouTube channels within the subsequent few months, separating completely different sports activities into separate channels, for instance, U.S. sports activities and particular Premier League soccer membership channels. And it plans to launch further channels beneath the household and parenting classes.
The Solar claims that 40 p.c of its general views for Originals have come by way of related TVs. That equates to 600,000 hours out of 1.4 million hours of Originals content material, per the writer.
In distinction to open internet show, video and CTV advert spend have emerged as vibrant spots for publishers. Within the UK, 64% of on-line show spend now goes to video, up from 51% 5 years in the past, in accordance with the IAB’s Digital Advert Spend report in April. And forecasts counsel CTV promoting may attain £2.94 billion ($4 billion) by 2028 primarily based on present charges, per IAB knowledge. Within the US, CTV video spend grew 18% year-over-year in 2024 to $64 billion, per the IAB’s 2025 Digital Video Advert Spend and Technique report.
“If you wish to have a look at an final ambition for us, it might be to maneuver additional and additional into the CTV house and probably have our personal presence there,” mentioned Griffiths.
