Facebook, Snapchat Deals Produce Meager Results for News Outlets
Newspapers and other media outlets are struggling to make money from their partnerships with tech giants like Facebook and Snapchat, raising concerns over their business models in a news landscape increasingly dominated by social media platforms.
Some publishers are scaling back on Facebook Inc.’s Instant Articles program, in which they host stories directly on the social media company’s platform instead of their own websites so they load faster on phones, according to a report by Digital Content Next, a trade group.
Media companies are frustrated that Facebook restricts the number and type of ads in Instant Articles, making it harder for them to make as much money as they can selling ads on their own websites, where they can better target readers, said the group, whose members include The New York Times, The Washington Post, ESPN and Bloomberg News.
