FIPP Global Media Tech Tracker – November 2025
Welcome to the November 2025 edition of the FIPP Media Technology Tracker.
This digest highlights technological developments shaping the global media and publishing landscape, excluding artificial intelligence, covered separately in the FIPP AI Tracker. This edition looks at emerging tools, platforms and infrastructure updates since July 2025.
GLOBAL OVERVIEW
SEO, GEO and podcasts – publishers adapt to platform shifts
European and US publishers report traffic declines of 10–17 % from Google Search, which they attribute to AI-generated overviews reducing click-throughs. Calls are growing for regulatory scrutiny and licensing deals. Meanwhile, hype around Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) has cooled, as publishers cite the lack of measurable tools and opaque model behaviour.
By contrast, podcasts are gaining ground as monetisable products thanks to new distribution platforms such as Apple Connect and subscription application programming interfaces (APIs), which simplify paid-podcast delivery, integrate analytics, and lower technical barriers.
Why it matters: These innovations highlight how infrastructure and platform technologies influence what publishers can monetise. From subscription APIs to podcast paywall tools, the tech stack itself determines whether diversification strategies succeed.
Read more here: Direct Relationships, New Audiences, and SEO vs GEO | Adrian, your AI curator
Reddit integrates publisher content
Reddit has expanded its publishing tools, allowing outlets to sync articles directly into the app via RSS feeds, supported by analytics dashboards. Early partners report higher in-app engagement and streamlined workflows.
Why it matters: Community-driven platforms are moving closer to formal publishing ecosystems, reducing friction between social conversations and original reporting.
Read more here: Bringing News and Conversations Together with Reddit Pro tools for Publishers
Taboola launches DeeperDive
Taboola has introduced DeeperDive, a new on-site search platform that lets publishers offer a Google-like search experience inside their own properties. Launch partners include Gannett (US) and The Independent (UK).
Unlike generative-AI chat interfaces, DeeperDive focuses on classic search-engine technology: it builds a dedicated index of a publisher’s content and uses algorithmic relevance ranking to surface results quickly and keep users on-site. The goal is to reduce “search leakage” to external platforms such as Google and to drive deeper session times and page-view revenue.
Why it matters: By giving publishers a powerful, customisable internal search tool, Taboola is helping them capture traffic that might otherwise bounce to third-party search engines. It’s a clear example of technical infrastructure innovation—not generative AI—aimed at audience retention and monetisation across both North American and European markets.
YouTube retires Trending tab
In July, YouTube replaced its long-running Trending section with category-based Explore pages and personalised discovery charts.
Why it matters: A shift away from one-size-fits-all virality toward segmented discovery could help publishers find more targeted audiences.
Read more here: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/gadgets-news/youtube-ends-trending-page-july-2025/articleshow/
News/Media Alliance shuts down paywall-bypassing site
The Alliance won a legal battle against 12ft.io, a site that let users sidestep publisher paywalls.
Why it matters: This affirms publishers’ ability to defend subscription models in the face of free-access hacks.
Read more here: News publishers take paywall-blocker 12ft.io offline
WordPress ecosystem options clarified for newsrooms
In a recent analysis, journalism-tech writer Ben Werdmuller compared the main content-management options for publishers and highlighted when to choose Ghost or WordPress and, within WordPress, how to match hosting models to a newsroom’s size and technical capacity.
- Ghost suits smaller, membership-driven publishers seeking a simple, newsletter-centric setup.
- WordPress, still the dominant open-source CMS, offers multiple levels:
- Newspack – turnkey, managed service for small and mid-size newsrooms (~$750/month, about 0.25% of revenue).
- Managed WordPress hosting (e.g. Pressable) – fully managed infrastructure while retaining flexibility.
- WordPress VIP – enterprise-grade, white-glove support for high-traffic publishers (Vox, NBCUniversal, TIME).
Why it matters: This analysis maps the trade-offs between simplicity, cost and control. For publishers weighing their next CMS move, it underlines that how you host WordPress matters as much as the platform itself, especially when newsroom resources are tight and security, scalability and revenue integrations are critical.
Read more here: WordPress for newsrooms
Digg relaunches
Kevin Rose and Alexis Ohanian brought back Digg as a mobile-first, archive-rich social aggregator, focusing on news discovery and curation.
Why it matters: This renewal signals that there is still interest in curated news communities at a time when algorithmic feeds are under scrutiny.
Read more here: Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian teams with Kevin Rose to resurrect Digg
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EUROPE AND UNITED KINGDOM
Publisher app strategies shift towards unified, habit-forming products
Mediahuis and Ouest-France now integrate live news and ePaper editions into a single app experience, while The Telegraph’s modular app, named App of the Year by Press Gazette in 2024, now brings together lifestyle, newsletters, podcasts and puzzles under one roof.
Meanwhile, Süddeutsche Zeitung and FAZ maintain separate apps to emphasise ePapers as premium products. Others, such as Neue Presse Gesellschaft, add AI-powered features (for example, the “Ask Me” in-app assistant) and invest in onboarding flows and tiered access journeys to strengthen monetisation.
Why it matters: Apps are no longer passive containers but full digital ecosystems where publishers consolidate formats, build reader habits, and monetise through smart upselling.
Read more here: 3 Trends in Publisher App Strategy in 2025
Twipe-powered personalisation lifts retention in Belgium and Finland
Belgium’s Roularta and Finland’s Keskisuomalainen are both using Twipe’s JAMES personalisation engine to deepen reader loyalty.
Roularta tested bundled ePaper-style digital editions versus individual article newsletters and found higher engagement and time spent in the edition format; it is now experimenting with personalised and segmented editions tailored to under-40 readers.
Keskisuomalainen moved beyond basic RSS-driven mailings to algorithmically personalised newsletters at scale, freeing small newsrooms to focus on reporting and achieving measurable gains in retention, open rates and reader activation.
Why it matters: These parallel experiments show how Twipe’s technology can reinvent both digital editions and email newsletters as habit-forming, high-value products—proof that personalisation and strong product design can drive engagement across very different European markets.
Read more here: The Edition of the Future: Reinventing Engagement with Digital Editions
AMERICAS
JW Player–Connatix merger
Video-tech companies JW Player and Connatix have merged, creating an end-to-end solution for publishers covering live streaming, contextual targeting and monetisation.
Why it matters: This strengthens independent video infrastructure for publishers looking to reduce reliance on YouTube.
Read more here: Connatix and JW Player Merge To Create the Industry’s Largest Video Technology and Monetization Platform
Minute Media acquires VideoVerse
Sports/media technology company Minute Media has acquired VideoVerse, whose product Magnifi does real-time detection and clipping of sports highlights. Axios
Why it matters: It reflects how publishers are investing in video-tech infrastructure to generate short-form, high-engagement content—especially in live or sports verticals. Could help strengthen video product strategy for media organisations.
Read more here: Exclusive: Minute Media acquires VideoVerse in its largest deal ever
ASIA-PACIFIC
Bioscope+ (Bangladesh) – All-in-one OTT aggregator launches
Grameenphone unveiled Bioscope+ in July 2025, a revamped platform aggregating content from more than 11 local and international OTT providers, including Chorki and Hoichoi, with smart discovery, unified payment and multilingual access.
Why it matters: This reimagines media consumption via aggregation and smart personalisation, especially impactful in markets with fragmented content access.
Read more here: Grameenphone introduces ‘One’ digital ecosystem | The Business Standard
Duanju micro-dramas (China) – Vertical short episodes capture mobile audiences
The boom in duanju, China’s ultra-short, vertical dramas, has only intensified going into late 2025. Professionally produced 1-6 minute episodes, designed for smartphone viewing, continue to draw massive audiences.
Industry analysts say the format generated around US $7 billion in 2024 revenue, already outpacing China’s national box office, and early 2025 indicators suggest that figure is climbing further as apps like DramaBox and ReelShort expand into the US market (for example through Disney’s accelerator programme).
Why it matters: This mobile-first, bite-sized storytelling model is reshaping how audiences engage with serialised content, offering publishers and platforms a rapidly growing, high-engagement video opportunity.
Read more here: Business Insider – “Meet DramaBox, the app that’s trying to win the micro-drama race …”
MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
Orange and Synamedia – Regional CDN solution improves streaming reliability
Orange has partnered with Synamedia’s Quortex Switch to launch a multi-Content Delivery Network (CDN) solution across the Middle East and Africa. The technology enables dynamic routing, geo-based viewer segmentation and mid-stream switching to reduce latency and outages.
Why it matters: For publishers moving deeper into video and live streaming, delivery reliability is make-or-break. In regions where infrastructure is patchy and global CDNs underperform, a resilient, locally tuned system means fewer abandoned streams and higher ad completion rates.
Read more here: Orange and Synamedia expand multi-CDN reach
Dubai Media adopts Comcast unified video platform
Dubai Media has contracted Comcast Technology Solutions to provide an end-to-end video management stack (Media360), covering acquisition, origination, processing and multi-platform delivery.
Why it matters: As more Gulf media organisations upgrade to modern video stacks, publishers gain access to better tools and shared infrastructure for distributing and monetising video.
Read more here: Dubai Media Selects Comcast Technology Solutions’ Video Management Platform | TV Tech
MTN & Synamedia – New streaming platform for Africa
MTN Group has partnered with UK video-software firm Synamedia to build a new streaming platform targeting mobile and fibre subscribers across Africa. The service will offer a mix of linear TV and video-on-demand, regional content and monetisation via ads, subscription and free tiers.
Why it matters: Telecom–media convergence is enabling large-scale video infrastructure in Africa, expanding streaming access and giving publishers/operators more direct control over content distribution and monetisation.
Read more here: MTN Group, Synamedia partner on Pan-African streaming platform
AUSTRALASIA
News Corp Australia acquires Vapormedia to build fantasy-sports engagement
News Corp Australia bought Vapormedia, the tech company behind SuperCoach, to deepen product engagement among sports fans. The platform has ~430,000 users spending significant time monthly, and News Corp plans to expand the fantasy API, integrate more data-driven interactive content and leverage gamification to retain and grow audiences.
Why it matters: This shows how Australian media companies are investing in interactive, participatory formats and audience engagement via “platform-adjacent” tech products—not just editorial content—for retention and revenue diversification.
Read more here: News Corp gets into fantasy sports with Vapormedia acquisition – AdNews
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