Yachting and Boating World
Yachting and Boating World (YBW) is a UK digital boating media platform offering news, expert advice, forums, a boats-for-sale marketplace, video, and a free weather tool for sailing and motor-boat enthusiasts, operating within Future plc's marine magazine portfolio.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Yachting and Boating World does
Yachting and Boating World (YBW) is a UK-based digital boating media platform that aggregates editorial content, community, boat listings, video, and utility tools for sailing and motor-boating enthusiasts. The core platform at ybw.com combines news and features, expert-advice and maintenance guides, gear reviews, travel and destination guides, an active community forum (forums.ybw.com), a boats-for-sale marketplace, a free weather and ocean forecasting tool integrated with theyr.com, and a video and event library. Editorial coverage is supplied by five sister magazine brands within the Future plc portfolio — Yachting World, Yachting Monthly, Practical Boat Owner, Motor Boat & Yachting, and Motor Boats Monthly — and digital editions of these titles are sold through a dedicated digital-editions page.
The business was launched as ybw.com in 1998, sat within TI Media Limited (formerly Time Inc. UK), and became part of Future plc following Future's 2019 acquisition of TI Media. Revenue mechanics rely primarily on advertising (sold by an in-house team including an Advertising Director, two Account Directors, an Account Manager and an Advertising Executive), magazine subscriptions and digital-edition sales routed through Magazines Direct, affiliate and sponsored-content partnerships with marine and lifestyle brands such as Garmin, Helly Hansen, Decathlon and West Marine, and B2B Marine Syndication licensing operated via Future plc. The platform operates under the UK Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) Editors' Code of Practice and serves audiences primarily in the United Kingdom with additional editorial coverage of European and North American boating markets.
Geographically, YBW is headquartered in London under the legal entity TI Media Limited. Operating geographies are listed as the United Kingdom, France, the United States and Canada alongside a global editorial footprint across travel, events and major ocean races (Volvo Ocean Race, Clipper, Fastnet, America's Cup, Cowes Week). No funding rounds, headcount figures, or standalone revenue figures are publicly disclosed, and there is no evidence of AI/ML capability, proprietary software development beyond the weather tool integration, mobile applications, or APIs.
Yachting and Boating World firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Yachting and Boating World
- Legal name
- TI Media Limited
- Website
- https://ybw.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Yachting and Boating World (YBW) is a UK digital boating media platform offering news, expert advice, forums, a boats-for-sale marketplace, video, and a free weather tool for sailing and motor-boat enthusiasts, operating within Future plc's marine magazine portfolio.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Yachting and Boating World industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Boating & Marine Digital Media
- NAICS
- Boat Dealers (441222)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Boat & Personal Watercraft (PWC) Retail (CRAMAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sailing & Rigging Retail (Sailboats, Sails, Hardware) (CRAMAIAG)
Keywords
Where Yachting and Boating World is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Yachting and Boating World business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Yachting and Boating World product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Yachting and Boating World (YBW) operates a digital media platform at ybw.com that aggregates sailing and motor boat news, expert boat advice, gear reviews, video content, and event coverage. The platform also operates an active community forum at forums.ybw.com and a boats-for-sale marketplace, while cross-promoting sister marine magazine titles (Yachting World, Yachting Monthly, Practical Boat Owner, Motor Boat & Yachting, Motor Boats Monthly) including digital edition subscriptions. Revenue is generated primarily through advertising and magazine subscriptions.
Product overview
Yachting and Boating World (YBW) is a digital media and community platform that operates as a unified online destination for the yachting and boating community. The core product is the YBW.com website, which integrates content from multiple sister magazine brands (Yachting Monthly, Yachting World, Motor Boat & Yachting, Practical Boat Owner) into a single platform. Key offerings include news and features, community forums, boats-for-sale listings, a weather forecasting tool, video content library, boat event coverage, gear reviews, expert advice articles, and digital magazine editions. The platform serves recreational boaters, competitive sailors, and marine enthusiasts through both free content and subscription-based digital editions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Yachting World: Magazine and digital content covering competitive sailing, America's Cup, yacht tests, and sailing techniques
- Yachting Monthly
- Practical Boat Owner
- Motor Boat & Yachting
- Motor Boats Monthly
Products and services
- YBW.com website The primary digital media platform aggregating news, features, boat reviews, expert advice, gear guides, event coverage, travel content, and video content for yachting and boating enthusiasts.
- YBW Forums
Companies that use Yachting and Boating World
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Yachting and Boating World technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Yachting and Boating World partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Yachting and Boating World competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cruising World: Bluewater sailing and cruising publication with boat reviews, seamanship, and cruising destination content. Directly competes with YBW's Yachting Monthly cruising editorial for the same sailing lifestyle audience.
- Power & Motoryacht: Motor yacht and powerboat publication covering boat tests, gear, and luxury motor yachting. Directly comparable to YBW's Motor Boat & Yachting content and competes for high-end motorboat enthusiast audiences and advertisers.
- Sail Magazine: Long-established US sailing magazine and website covering racing, cruising, and boat reviews. Directly competes with YBW's Yachting World/Yachting Monthly sailing editorial content for audience and advertiser mindshare.
- Practical Sailor: Independent sailing publication providing boat reviews, gear tests, and DIY maintenance content. Closely mirrors YBW's Practical Boat Owner content offering and competes for the same hands-on boat owner audience.
- Boating Magazine: Established US boating publication covering motor boats, gear, and boating destinations. Directly competes with YBW's general boating editorial content for enthusiast audiences and marine advertising spend.
- Soundings Trade Only: Recreational boating industry news and consumer content platform covering boat reviews, ownership, and industry trends. Competes with YBW's news and editorial coverage for boating enthusiast audience attention.
- Boats Group (YachtWorld, Boats.com, Boat Trader): The dominant global boat listing platform operator running YachtWorld, Boats.com, and Boat Trader. Directly competes with YBW's boats-for-sale marketplace segment and is the most direct competitor for marine e-commerce share.
- PassageMaker: Trawler and motor cruising publication focused on long-distance powerboat voyaging. Competes with YBW's motorboat cruising editorial for the niche power-cruising enthusiast segment.
Broad incumbents
- Active Interest Media: US-based media company operating a portfolio of boating, sailing, and outdoor enthusiast brands (including Sail, Power & Motoryacht, Soundings, and Yachts International). Comparable as a multi-brand marine media portfolio operator and a direct competitor to Future plc's YBW portfolio strategy.
- Future plc: YBW's publicly-listed UK parent company (LSE: FUTR) operating a broad consumer media portfolio across technology, gaming, lifestyle, and enthusiast verticals. Relevant as YBW's corporate parent and as a portfolio operator with comparable marine media assets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Yachting and Boating World social profiles
Digital presenceYachting and Boating World compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Yachting and Boating World financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Yachting and Boating World leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Yachting and Boating World subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Yachting and Boating World funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Yachting and Boating World M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Yachting and Boating World
What does Yachting and Boating World do?
Yachting and Boating World (YBW) operates a digital media platform at ybw.com that aggregates sailing and motor boat news, expert boat advice, gear reviews, video content, and event coverage. The platform also operates an active community forum at forums.ybw.com and a boats-for-sale marketplace, while cross-promoting sister marine magazine titles (Yachting World, Yachting Monthly, Practical Boat Owner, Motor Boat & Yachting, Motor Boats Monthly) including digital edition subscriptions. Revenue is generated primarily through advertising and magazine subscriptions.
Is Yachting and Boating World a public or private company?
Yachting and Boating World is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Yachting and Boating World founded?
Yachting and Boating World was founded in 1998.
Where is Yachting and Boating World based?
Yachting and Boating World is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
Who are Yachting and Boating World's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cruising World, Power & Motoryacht, Sail Magazine, Practical Sailor, Boating Magazine, Soundings Trade Only, Boats Group (YachtWorld, Boats.com, Boat Trader) and PassageMaker. Broad incumbents are Active Interest Media and Future plc.
Does Yachting and Boating World have an API?
No public API is recorded for Yachting and Boating World.
What industry is Yachting and Boating World in?
Yachting and Boating World's product category is Boating & Marine Digital Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAMAIAA, Boat & Personal Watercraft (PWC) Retail, with a secondary code of CRAMAIAG, Sailing & Rigging Retail (Sailboats, Sails, Hardware). Its NAICS code is 441222.