Cambridgeshire Live

What Cambridgeshire Live does

Cambridgeshire Live is a regional digital news publication serving Cambridge, Peterborough, Huntingdon, St Neots, Wisbech, Ely, and the wider Cambridgeshire region in the United Kingdom. The company operates a website (cambridge-news.co.uk) and mobile application covering local news, crime, politics, education, property, traffic and travel, sport (including dedicated Cambridge United FC coverage), and community events, with adjacent coverage reaching into neighbouring Norfolk and Suffolk. Its editorial product is organised into clearly delineated sections (News, What's On, Sport, Traffic & Travel, History, Shopping, Family & Kids, Music & Nightlife, etc.), enabling both general consumer browsing and segment-specific engagement.

The business is operated as a brand within the network of Reach plc, the UK-listed regional media group (LSE: ECH), which provides shared technology, advertising sales, and content syndication infrastructure. Cambridgeshire Live's product is built around a content management platform serving multi-channel distribution: web, mobile app, email newsletters, social media (Facebook, X, Instagram), and a WhatsApp community for direct reader delivery. Monitisation is a hybrid model combining consumer subscription ('Subscribe'), print newspaper sales ('Buy a Paper'), and advertising ('Advertise with us', 'Book an ad') including local display advertising and event sponsorship targeted at regional SMBs.

The company serves two customer segments. The primary segment is the general public in Cambridgeshire and adjacent East Anglia counties seeking daily local information. The secondary segment is local businesses seeking to reach those audiences through display, native, and event partnerships. The publication employs 101-250 staff (per the firmographic profile), making it a mid-sized regional operation by UK local news standards, with strategic product decisions substantially shaped by its parent company's network economics.

Name

Cambridgeshire Live

Legal name

Reach plc

Website

https://cambridge-news.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1888

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cambridgeshire Live is a regional UK digital news publication serving Cambridge, Peterborough, and the wider Cambridgeshire region, covering local news, sport, crime, traffic, and events. It operates as a brand within the Reach plc network, monetising through advertising, digital subscriptions, and print sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Digital News Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

Keywords

• Local news publishing
• Regional journalism
• Digital news media
• Community news
• News website

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cambridgeshire Live operates a regional digital news portal that publishes local news, sports coverage (including Cambridge United FC), crime, politics, traffic and travel updates, property, and "What's On" event listings for the Cambridgeshire region and surrounding East Anglia areas. The offering includes a daily-updated news website, email newsletters, single-copy print newspaper sales, and a marketplace for display and native local advertising.

Product overview

Cambridgeshire Live is a single-platform regional news media website operated by Reach plc. The offering consists of a unified news portal delivering local news coverage, sports reporting, events listings (What's On), and traffic/travel information across Cambridgeshire and neighboring counties including Norfolk and Suffolk. The site is organized into content sections including News, Crime, Sport, Traffic & Travel, What's On, History, Shopping, and various local area pages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cambridgeshire Live news website Regional digital news portal for Cambridgeshire and East Anglia readers, organised by content section (News, Crime, Sport, Traffic & Travel, What's On, Property, Politics, Education, History) and by sub-area pages (Cambridge, Peterborough, Huntingdon, St Neots, Wisbech, Ely). Covers local council proceedings, Cambridge United FC, and community events.
• Email newsletters Subscriber email newsletters delivering curated local news, sport, and events updates directly to readers who opt in via the website's newsletter signup centre.
• Print newspaper single-copy sales (Buy a Paper) Retail single-copy sales of the print edition of the Cambridge News newspaper, fulfilled via the Reachsubs storefront, complementing the digital news offering.
• Local advertising solutions Advertising products sold to local and regional businesses to reach Cambridgeshire/East Anglia audiences, including display ads, sponsored/partner content, event promotion, and recruitment listings.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cambridge Independent: Independent local newspaper covering Cambridge and surrounding areas. A direct local competitor in the same geographic catchment, offering news, lifestyle and listings coverage.
• Eastern Daily Press: Reach plc regional title covering Norfolk. Directly comparable as a neighbouring East Anglia regional news brand with overlapping geographic coverage and shared parent.
• Peterborough Telegraph: Local newspaper covering Peterborough, operated by Newsquest. Direct regional competitor for Peterborough-area news audiences and local advertising spend.
• Hunts Post: Local newspaper serving Huntingdon and surrounding areas in Cambridgeshire. Direct geographic competitor within the same county, covering overlapping towns and communities.
• Bristol Post: Reach plc regional title covering Bristol and the South West. Directly comparable in scope, audience model and product structure to Cambridgeshire Live.
• Birmingham Live: Reach plc regional title covering Birmingham and the West Midlands. Directly comparable in product format (digital news portal with print roots), audience model, and monetization mix.
• Yorkshire Post: Long-established regional newspaper in Yorkshire, owned by National World. Comparable heritage local newspaper now operating as a digital-led regional news brand serving a defined UK catchment.
• Manchester Evening News: Another Reach plc regional news brand covering Greater Manchester. Highly comparable as a digital-first local/regional news outlet within the same parent group, sharing technology, commercial infrastructure, and editorial playbook.

Broad incumbents

• The Guardian: National newspaper with significant UK local and regional news coverage online. A broad incumbent that competes for digital local-news readership and national advertising budgets overlapping with Cambridgeshire Live's catchment.
• BBC Cambridgeshire: Public service broadcaster's local news service for Cambridgeshire. Competes for the same local news audience with free, public-service-funded content, putting downward pressure on subscriptions and ad rates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CambsLive
• Facebookfacebook.com/cambridgeshirelive
• Instagraminstagram.com/cambridgeshirelive

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 Cambridgeshire Live