Politics Joe has put its video podcasts behind a paywall, in part citing the limitations of Youtube’s revenue model.
The outlet’s podcast, typically released on Mondays and Wednesdays, is no longer available to watch online for free. The audio version will remain freely accessible.
The Politics Joe podcast was listed as the third most mentioned among weekly news podcast listeners (behind Goalhanger’s The Rest Is Politics and Global’s The News Agents) in the latest Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism published this week.
The podcast is known for its informal tone and is described by its creators as “a recorded version of the conversations we have after work”.
Full video episodes of the podcast are now available exclusively via Patreon, priced at £8 per month or £3 per video. Subscriber perks include early access to live event tickets, a group chat and Q&A functionality.
Five days after going live on Monday 16 June, 700 people had signed up to Politics Joe’s Patreon, including more than 400 paying subscribers.
Oli Dugmore, editor of Joe.co.uk, described the shift as more “freemium” than fully premium. He told Press Gazette: “The reason it isn’t a full-hard paywall is because part of our mission statement, the reason for the brand’s existence, is to get younger audiences to engage with the news.
“What is our reason for being if we can’t infect your social media feed and make you care about what’s happening in Westminster?”
Dugmore said the decision was partly driven by concern over platform instability.
“As a politics publisher, if one day Youtube or Instagram, pick your platform, decides to deprioritise news or political content, your revenue could halve.
“If you don’t have something else, like a subscription base, to fall back on, you’re in a very vulnerable position.”
Speaking on the Politics Joe podcast on Tuesday, he also outlined why the Youtube model wasn’t working.
“The economics of publishing on Youtube really aren’t there. People ask, ‘Why don’t you do a Youtube membership?’ – they have their subscription package, but they take 30%…”
Politics Joe has 698,000 subscribers on Youtube. Its podcast typically gets between 20,000 and 70,000 views.
Press Gazette understands that publishers receive between £2 and £5 per 1,000 views under Youtube’s revenue-share model which sees the platform keep 45%. Hard news content (like politics and foreign affairs) typically attracts lower advertising rates because some marketers see it has been “unsafe” for advertising.
Dugmore said the podcast’s audio content currently generates twice the revenue of its Youtube videos, despite attracting roughly half the audience.
“So part of the rationale for doing this is that, for the same piece of content, we now have a different tech overlord who offers us slightly more favourable terms.”
Joe describes itself as “a social media lifestyle network serving the interests, passions and curiosities of the modern man”.
Aimed specifically at 18 to 35-year-olds it claims 250 million monthly content views across sport, entertainment and current affairs. It is part of JMG Media Ltd.
Joe Media was bought out of administration for the second time in under four years in April 2024.
It was rescued by Irish entrepreneur Michael O’Rourke in a pre-pack deal worth £3.6m. O’Rourke is co-founder of TV and streaming networks Setanta Sports and Premier Sports.
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