The Herald - Scotland

What The Herald - Scotland does

The Herald is one of Scotland's oldest continuously published broadsheet newspapers, founded in Glasgow in 1783 and now operated as a title within the Newsquest Media Group Ltd portfolio (registered in England & Wales, No. 01676637). It serves a primarily Scottish mass-market readership across four core content verticals: general news, business, sport (notably football, rugby, golf, and tennis), and Scottish/UK politics. Secondary verticals include arts and culture, lifestyle, and obituaries. The audience is segmented horizontally — general news readers are the primary segment — with vertical niches in business professionals, sports enthusiasts, and political news consumers, all served through both free and subscriber-only content.

The Herald's core product is the heraldscotland.com digital news platform, supplemented by a subscriber-exclusive mobile application on iOS and Android that delivers an ad-free reading experience, live news, the digital newspaper replica via Pagesuite, and over 50 weekly interactive puzzles. The technology stack is conventional for a regional newspaper: a web publishing platform, mobile applications, Piano for subscription metering and analytics, and a fully digitised historical archive of over 440,000 newspaper pages spanning 1820 to present, provided in partnership with Newspapers.com. Additional product surface includes an extensive newsletter portfolio (Breaking News, Morning Headlines, Unspun Scottish Politics, Business Insight, Winds of Change, and others), Reader Rewards (a cashback and discounts integration with UK retailers), Leap Business Directory, a Public Notice Portal for statutory notices, and classifieds integrations with S1Jobs, S1Homes, and Exchange and Mart.

The business model is anchored in recurring digital and print subscriptions across three digital tiers (Digital, Digital Plus with newspaper replica, Ad-Light with reduced advertising) plus home-delivery print subscriptions, with monthly and annual billing. Secondary revenue streams include website display advertising, classifieds and directory listings, and a meaningful events and awards business (Property Awards, Top Employer Awards, Law Awards, Scottish Family Business Awards, Scottish Politician of the Year Awards) operated through Newsquest Scotland Events, which produces over 30 high-profile annual events. The company is IPSO-regulated, GDPR-compliant with ICO registration, and PCI DSS-compliant for payment processing.

Name

The Herald - Scotland

Legal name

Newsquest Media Group Ltd

Website

https://heraldscotland.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1783

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Herald is a 242-year-old Scottish broadsheet newspaper serving mass-market Scottish readers across news, politics, sport, business, and lifestyle via digital subscriptions, print home delivery, mobile apps, and a growing events and awards business, operating as a title within Newsquest Media Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

National & General-Interest Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB), Business, Financial & Trade News Publishers (MPAJADAC)

Keywords

• Newspaper publishing
• Digital news
• Print media
• News subscriptions
• Regional journalism

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: Revenue from digital subscriptions including monthly and annual plans with tiered access (Digital, Digital Plus with newspaper replica, ad-light options)
2. Print Subscriptions: Home delivery and postal subscription services for print newspaper
3. Display Advertising: Website display advertising, with ad-light subscriptions reducing ad visibility for premium subscribers. Supports local businesses promoting local services.
4. Event Sponsorships and Awards: Revenue from branded events including The Herald Property Awards, Herald Top Employer Awards, Herald Law Awards, Scottish Family Business Awards, and Scottish Politician of the Year Awards
5. Full-Page Advertisements: Revenue from selling full-page advertisement space, as demonstrated by the thank-you advertisement placed by The Herald itself

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Herald is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper that publishes national and international news, politics, sport, business, arts, and lifestyle content through its digital website, mobile apps, and print edition. It operates on a subscription model offering Digital, Digital Plus (with newspaper replica), and Ad-Light tiers, complemented by a digitised searchable archive spanning 1820 to present and branded industry events and awards.

Product overview

The Herald is a Scottish newspaper offering a digital media platform with a single unified website supplemented by multiple add-on modules. The core product is the heraldscotland.com news website providing Scottish news, politics, sport, business, and lifestyle content. This is complemented by The Herald App (iOS/Android) for mobile access, the Digital Edition for replica newspaper access, and the Newspaper Archive for historical content. Subscriber benefits include Reader Rewards (cashback and discounts), Puzzles (50+ weekly), and Newsletter subscriptions. Additional services include the Leap Business Directory, Public Notice Portal for public notices, Motoring section via Exchange and Mart, Bereavement Guide information resource, and Events through Newsquest Scotland Events. The company also offers ad-light Digital Subscriptions as a premium tier.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Herald on Sunday: Herald on Sunday content and Sunday edition
• Herald Digital

Products and services

• The Herald Website Main digital news platform providing Scottish news, politics, sport, business, arts, culture, lifestyle content, and opinion columns across multiple sections including Scottish News, UK News, World News, Football, Rugby, and more.
• The Herald App 100% ad-free mobile application for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices offering live news delivery, full digital newspaper replica, and daily interactive puzzles.
• Digital Edition
• Newspaper Archive Fully digitised and searchable newspaper archive containing over 440,000 newspaper pages spanning 1820 to present day, available to digital subscribers in partnership with Newspapers.com.
• Leap Business Directory
• Public Notice Portal
• Newsquest Events Scotland

Quantifiable outcome

• Trusted journalism amid disinformation on social media

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Newspapers.comcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Herald's digital newspaper archive of over 440,000 pages spanning 1820 to present is provided in partnership with Newspapers.com, enabling searchable digital access for subscribers
• IMPACT ScotlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMPACT Scotland is a charity created by American arts philanthropist Carol Grigor for the Dunard Center concert hall project. The Herald provides coverage and promotion for this cultural initiative.
• Newsquest Media GroupcoreOthersThe Herald is owned and operated by Newsquest Media Group Ltd, an audited local newspaper network. The Echo Building, 18 Albert Road, Bournemouth, England BH1 1BZ. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637. Newsquest Events produces over 30 high-profile industry events annually including Herald-branded awards.
• Public Notice Portal / News Media AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Herald participates in the Public Notice Portal, brought to you by Britain's Local News Media and supported by Google, providing public notices for planning, traffic, licensing, probate, and other statutory announcements.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Edinburgh Evening News: Edinburgh-focused evening newspaper from the same Scotsman group. Comparable as a Scottish regional subscription-and-advertising title, though concentrated on the Edinburgh market rather than serving all of Scotland.

Direct peers

• The Courier (Dundee): Long-established Dundee-based regional Scottish newspaper covering news, sport and business across Tayside and Fife. Comparable as a Scotland-focused subscription and advertising-driven news brand with regional reach.
• Press and Journal: Aberdeen-based Scottish regional newspaper covering the north and north-east of Scotland. Operates a similar print + digital subscription model with local advertising and serves overlapping Scottish news consumers.
• The Scotsman: Edinburgh-based Scottish national newspaper covering news, politics, sport and business. The most direct print/digital competitor to The Herald in the Scottish quality-broadsheet segment.
• The National (Scotland): Scottish daily newspaper also owned by Newsquest Media Group and published from Glasgow. A sister title under the same parent, competing for overlapping Scottish news audiences with distinct editorial positioning.
• Daily Record: Scotland's largest daily tabloid, covering Scottish news, sport and politics with a mass-market positioning. Competes with The Herald for Scottish advertising spend and reader attention across digital and print.

Broad incumbents

• The Guardian: UK-wide digital-first newspaper with significant Scottish coverage and a strong reader-funded subscription model. Comparable on subscription tiering, app experience and reader-revenue strategy, though serving a much larger geography.
• BBC Scotland: Publicly funded Scottish news operation producing news, politics, sport and analysis across TV, radio and digital. Competes with The Herald for Scottish news audiences and advertising share; free at point of use, structurally pressuring subscription economics.
• The Times Scotland: Scotland edition of the UK-wide Times title. Comparable as a subscription-led quality newspaper covering Scottish affairs, but operating with a UK-wide brand, infrastructure, and subscriber base that The Herald lacks.
• STV News: Scottish commercial broadcaster producing regional TV news and digital news content across Scotland. Competes for Scottish advertising budgets and audience attention alongside The Herald's digital properties.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/heraldscotland
• Facebookfacebook.com/heraldscotland
• Instagraminstagram.com/theheraldscotland

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Herald - Scotland