Traditional red‑top titles are feeling the squeeze. The Sun posted a pre‑tax loss of £53mn for the year to June 2025, with revenue slipping to £273 million and adult reach dropping to 22.2 million, according to PAMCo. Legal bills from the phone‑hacking scandal added £36.7 million to costs, widening the gap from the previous year's £18 million loss.

DMGT’s consumer group, which owns the Daily Mail, saw revenues dip 2 percent to £600 million but returned to a modest £12 million operating profit after a £46 million loss. Yet its combined print‑digital reach fell from 25.3 million to 21.7 million, underscoring the broader decline in paid‑for circulation that all major tabloid owners warn will continue.

Reach, the third major player with titles like the Mirror and Express, recorded a 3.7 percent revenue drop to £518.4 million and a pre‑tax loss of £165.9 million, reversing a £62.8 million profit. Executives cite AI‑driven search summaries and influencer‑centric platforms as the chief disruptors, prompting costly experiments in video, creator‑led content and paid subscriptions as the industry scrambles to monetize dwindling digital audiences.