LinkedIn woos publishers, testing a “News Banner” on its mobile app feed and a video ad program that sources say will earn Bloomberg and WSJ $2M+ each in 2024
“In the next few days it will start testing … See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
LinkedIn’s publisher outreach revisits a long-running effort: it had previously explored a publisher-native reading format in earlier talks about an Instant Articles-style product.
The immediate backdrop is a broader turn toward revenue-sharing distribution deals, including [[a:1155283|LinkedIn and Pinterest tests that let publishers sell advertising against their own content]]. The News Banner adds a dedicated discovery surface while the video program attaches a clearer commercial incentive.
First-order effects
- Bloomberg and the WSJ gain a potential new video-ad revenue stream; sources expect each to receive more than $2 million in 2024 from the program.
- LinkedIn tests whether a mobile-feed news placement can increase publisher-content discovery while making premium video inventory more attractive to advertisers.
Second-order effects
- Publishers have a stronger reason to supply video and participate in LinkedIn distribution if the revenue share proves meaningful, rather than treating the platform solely as a referral channel.
- Other professional-content and social platforms face added pressure to pair publisher reach with measurable ad monetization, not just audience exposure.
Third-order effects
- If these programs scale, publisher-platform relationships may shift toward negotiated monetization partnerships built around platform-controlled feed placement and video inventory.
- The durable question is whether publishers can diversify revenue without becoming more dependent on a small number of platforms’ distribution rules and ad products.
The trend: Professional and social platforms are increasingly using revenue-sharing video products and curated news surfaces to secure publisher content and advertiser-ready inventory.