THIS WEEK


News Analysis Behind the headlines


Academic lists likely to be hardest hit by pandemic, new report suggests


The Impact of Covid-19 on the UK Publishing Industry was written after consulting figures from across the trade, with digital strategies highlighted as vital


Mark Chandler @mark_chandler


er C


ovid-19 has had a particu- larly severe impact on academic and scholarly publishing, while showing the need to accelerate digital strate- gies for the wider industry, new research suggests. A report by consultancy Maverick Publishing Specialists says academic presses will be hit hard by falls in universit reve- nue, while trade firms also face challenges in moving to a more agile, digital business model. Among its recommendations, the report calls for trade associations to lead on co-ordinating cross- industry working groups, some- thing which could be of particular benefit to smaller presses. The research was carried out by Maverick in May and June, supported by the Association of Learned & Professional Societ Publishers (ALPSP) and the Publishers Association. The research included 18 interviews with industry leaders and a survey of firms. Those inter- viewed did so anonymously, but Maverick said they ranged from small presses to larger enterprises across the trade and academic spectrum.


The Impact of Covid-19 on the UK Publishing Industry concluded that all publishers faced uncertaint over what the financial fallout of the crisis will be and whether customer


08 24th July 2020


behaviour will be changed long term. However, the concerns were particularly acute for educational and academic publishers, where “unprecedented economic fallout for universities”, with some institutions facing revenue falls of over 75%, will have a direct effect on procurement and expenditure. One academic publisher warned: “If international and postgraduate students defer placements, as is strongly anticipated, then revenue will disappear and this will have a massive impact on educational publishers as universities will either stop buying or try to negotiate discounts that are not sustainable by publishers.” The crisis will change how universities receive and pay for content and is likely to accelerate the transition from print to


89%


Of publishers said Covid-19 changed the way they operated


55%


Of publishers felt prepared for the logistical changes made as a result of the pandemic


95%


Of publishers believe they have the skills to make a digital transition


For all publishers we spoke to, their revenues were down and they were micro- managing their budgets almost on a weekly basis Jeremy Brinton, report co-author


digital, the report concludes, as universities will need to cut costs significantly and will pass this on to their supply chain. With 40% of academic and educational publishers interviewed having either offered customers digital content free of charge or at a reduced rate for a specified period of time, there will also be an effect on pricing, the report says, while the inabilit of sales reps to visit customers will impact the back-to-universit period too. For many, the real economic fallout will only be known aſter universi- ties reopen in September.


“Reality check” Maverick associate and report


A NUMBER OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO DEFER THEIR ENTRY


co-author Jeremy Brinton said: “For academic and educational publishers, their situation has obviously been compounded, with many universities closing. The impact of student enrolment and deferment is going to have an effect. We’ve seen already a major impact on budget, talking to academic and scholarly publish- ers, particularly presses that are really governed by funding from universities. A few that we spoke to are possibly less affected because they’re self-governed and self-financed. For the others, the way the funding process works, it’s going to impact on budget.” Brinton added: “I think they are in a more difficult place more generally than the trade publish- ers, who still have demand for that content. But for all publishers we spoke to, their revenues were down and they were micro- managing their budgets almost on a weekly basis.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40