HotTopics: Disaggregation In The Age Of GYM – Are Publishers Really Taking Back The Channel?

Recent events hint that publishers are trying to exercise more control over how their content is distributed, holding content back from the GYM (Google, Yahoo!, MSN) companies, enforcing embargoes, pulling content from traditional aggregators, and beefing up their own 'destination' sites. Technology and the rise of agile and unique companies that play differently have upset the tried-and-true channels and methods for information distribution, compelling the more established information providers to experiment and shift their own models. With a better understanding of the landscape, information managers can hone their strategies for operating in this fluid environment. In this HotTopics, Outsell analyzes publishers' licensing, distribution, and syndication strategies, and what changes they see coming, as well as how aggregators view their value and continued relationships with publishers. Based on interviews with News, B2B Trade, Scientific, Technical & Medical, and Market Research publishers and aggregators, this HotTopics provides a unique perspective on how different industry sectors view aggregation and distribution. The HotTopics concludes with the advice that publishers look beyond their own familiar areas of expertise and learn from distribution strategies in other sectors, and that they make a formal channel strategy a priority. By Bette BrunelleVice President and Lead Analyst