Exclusive: Reuters launches research subscriptions for individuals

Reuters is launching a new subscription research business called Reuters Insight that will be geared toward individuals making corporate strategy decisions.

Why it matters: The new business unit becomes Reuters' first-ever subscription business aimed at individuals rather than whole enterprises.

• The company's previously announced subscription plan for its news site is in limbo amid a corporate dispute with its financial data provider Refinitiv.

Details: Reuters Insight will provide subscribers with custom polling of senior industry executives, as well as custom research and analysis, to help them make professional decisions and shape their business strategies.

• "Historically, it's been hard to get that access," said Josh London, Reuters' chief marketing officer and head of Reuters Professional. "Conferences are one of the better ways to do that."
• Reuters will poll a database of professionals that it has mostly built via its industry events business to help subscribers identify and analyze trends in their specific business sectors.
• A team of data analysts, researchers and developers will pull the data, analyze it and customize it for clients.
• There are around 75 people currently working on the product.

How it works: Each sector will feature twice-yearly extensive polling from roughly 500 senior leaders in that field from the U.S. and Europe. Over time, as Reuters gathers enough trends data, it plans to build and sell predictive trends capabilities.

• The first sector Reuters says it will launch in is insurance, followed by pharmaceuticals, automotive, sustainability, supply chain and others.
• Reuters says it will continuously update its platform with new data, and subscribers will also have access to all interviews from experts at Reuters events, as well as exclusive industry workshops and analysis tools.
• The introductory pricing is $2,500 per year, per vertical, London said.

Between the lines: Reuters Insight will be a part of Reuters Professional, a new business line launched in 2020 that includes news, analysis and events for corporate decision-makers.

• Reuters' acquired FC Business Intelligence, a global B2B events company, in 2019 to fuel its professional events business, marking the company's first acquisition in 10 years.

• London calls the business a "delegate-first approach," as opposed to a "sponsor-first approach," meaning they tackle different areas of research based on the needs of their network of professionals, not advertiser appetite.

The big picture: The new business line is part of a greater push by Reuters to service individual professionals, as opposed to enterprise clients.

• Reuters' revenue has historically been focused on serving corporate clients through licensing news and data services and media and tech clients through its news agency business.
• London told Axios that the company believes the professionals market "is a $36 billion industry."

What's next: For now, the product will be sold on a licensed basis to individuals. Asked if Reuters would ever consider selling the offering via a bundled, enterprise subscription, London said, "We'll be looking at different models as we go."

Go deeper: Reuters launches new business line aimed at professionals