Cambridge Media Group

What Cambridge Media Group does

Cambridge Media Group is a privately held, founder-controlled UK media company headquartered in Cambridge, operating as a holding group over six wholly-owned subsidiaries that span niche publishing, digital agency services, and industry-specific recruitment. The publishing arm comprises Cambridge Academic (academic titles in business, economics, politics, history, English, and vocational subjects, retaining the Liverpool Academic Press imprint), Entertainment Technology Press (books, the twice-monthly Entertainment Technology and Sightline magazines for ABTT, and etnow.com regional news sites in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australasia, South Africa, and the Americas), Independence Educational Publishers (the Issues and Issues Today social-issues series for 11-14 and 16-18 age groups), and Janus Publishing (author-subsidised publishing services with a 400+ title backlist). The non-publishing arm comprises Realnet Limited, a Cambridge-based web design and digital marketing agency, and Taylor Phillips, a recruitment consultancy for the performing arts and entertainment technology sectors. Underlying technology centres on digital printing for short-run niche publishing and an in-house Realnet-built platform for bespoke CMS, e-commerce, mobile-responsive web design, and ebook conversion to epub formats distributed via Amazon and Apple Bookstore under a 50% royalty-share model.

The group makes money through five distinct streams: print book and magazine sales via own-brand websites and standard bookseller channels (one-time/transactional), ebook publishing services for third-party publishers (transactional revenue share), bespoke website design and development (professional services), SEO and digital marketing retainers (subscription/recurring), and recruitment fees (transactional). Pricing across services is quote-based and tailored rather than tiered, reflecting a B2B and high-touch enterprise field-sales motion supplemented by direct-to-consumer e-commerce on each subsidiary's own storefront. Customers span schools and universities, secondary school teachers and pupils, entertainment technology professionals and associations (notably ABTT), self-publishing authors, and SMEs to large corporates seeking digital presence.

Since founding circa 1999, the group has expanded primarily through acquisitions (Liverpool Academic Press in 2005, Taylor Phillips in 2005, Independence Educational Publishers in 2006, and Janus Publishing in 2019) and the 2012 pivot into ebook publishing services. Directors include CEO Ken Sewell, Publishing Director John Offord, and Group Technical Director Kari Sewell; the group operates with 11-50 employees and discloses no external institutional investment or revenue figures.

Name

Cambridge Media Group

Legal name

Cambridge Media Group

Website

https://cambridge-media.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cambridge Media Group is a Cambridge-based, privately held holding company over six subsidiaries publishing niche academic, educational, and entertainment-technology titles while offering web design, digital marketing, and performing-arts recruitment services to education, entertainment, and SME clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Publishing and Media Services

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Personal Finance & Careers Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Institutional & Custom Publishing (Coursepacks, Campus/Corporate Training) (MPAJABAL), Self-Publishing Distribution Aggregators (Wide E-book/Audiobook/Print) (MPAJAJAC)

Keywords

• Academic book publishing
• Entertainment industry publications
• Self-publishing services
• Website design services
• Digital marketing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Print Publishing Sales: Sale of books and magazines in performing arts, humanities, business, and education sectors through traditional book retail channels and direct sales.
2. Digital Publishing Services: Ebook publishing services for other publishers, including conversion to multiple formats and distribution to Amazon, Apple and other platforms. Revenue share model where CMG takes half of accrued royalties.
3. Website Design and Development: Bespoke website design, development and digital marketing services for businesses ranging from local SMEs to large corporates and international clients.
4. Digital Marketing Services: Digital marketing strategy development, SEO, and ongoing marketing support packages for clients.
5. Recruitment Services: Recruitment consulting services for the entertainment industry, offering flexible services from one-off placements to monthly and bespoke recruitment packages.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cambridge Media Group is a diversified publishing and digital media company headquartered in Cambridge, UK. It operates through multiple subsidiaries that publish academic and educational books, produce entertainment industry trade publications, offer self-publishing services for authors, deliver website design and digital marketing services, and run an entertainment industry recruitment agency.

Product overview

Cambridge Media Group operates as a diversified publishing and digital media company comprising six subsidiary businesses. The publishing division includes Cambridge Academic (academic textbooks), Entertainment Technology Press (entertainment industry publications and magazines including etnow.com), Independence Educational Publishers (social issues resources for secondary schools), and Janus Publishing (self-publishing services). The digital division comprises Realnet Limited (website design and digital marketing agency) and Taylor Phillips (entertainment industry recruitment). The group also offers ebook publishing services for other publishers, handling conversion and distribution to major platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Liverpool Academic Press: Imprint of Cambridge Academic retained after acquisition of Liverpool Academic Press in 2005.
• etnow.com
• Entertainment Technology
• Issues
• Issues Today
• Issues Online

Products and services

• Cambridge Academic Academic book publishing imprint focused on scholarly and educational titles for academic institutions, libraries, and researchers.
• Entertainment Technology Press Publisher of trade books and reference works for the entertainment technology industry, serving professionals working in cinema, audio, lighting, and related disciplines.
• Independence Educational Publishers Publisher of educational resources, study guides, and information books focused on social issues for schools, colleges, and libraries.
• Janus Publishing Self-publishing imprint that provides authors with editorial, design, production, and distribution services for independent book publishing.
• Realnet Limited Website design and digital marketing agency providing web design, development, search engine optimisation, and online marketing services to businesses.
• Taylor Phillips Recruitment agency that places candidates into roles within the entertainment technology industry, serving employers seeking specialised technical and creative staff.

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEntertainment Technology Press publishes the twice-monthly magazine 'Entertainment Technology' and 'Sightline' for the Association of British Theatre Technicians. This is a long-standing publishing partnership serving ABTT members with industry information.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• IngramSpark: Book distribution and print-on-demand platform widely used by independent publishers. Comparable as an ebook/print distribution channel that CMG's Realnet service competes with and complements.
• PLASA (Professional Lighting and Sound Association): Industry association for entertainment technology professionals. Not a publisher but a comparable ecosystem player to ABTT and a partner/competitor in the same entertainment technology vertical CMG serves via Entertainment Technology Press.

Direct peers

• Andersen Press: Independent UK children's and trade book publisher. Comparable as an independent UK publisher with a focused list and selective acquisition history, similar in scale to CMG's individual imprints.
• Liverpool University Press: UK academic and regional publisher. Comparable to Cambridge Academic in humanities and social sciences publishing, and historically a peer to the Liverpool Academic Press imprint CMG acquired.
• Bloomsbury Publishing: UK-listed independent publisher with a strong academic, humanities, and trade book portfolio. Closely comparable to Cambridge Academic's humanities and business list and to CMG's diversified imprint structure.
• Profile Books: Independent UK trade and academic publisher focused on non-fiction, humanities, business, and culture. Overlaps directly with Cambridge Academic's subject coverage and CMG's independent publishing model.

Broad incumbents

• Pearson: Global educational publisher and assessment provider. Comparable to Independence Educational Publishers' school-focused content but operates at much larger scale and digital-first orientation.
• Hachette UK: Major UK trade publisher within Hachette Livre. Comparable in book publishing but operates at substantially greater scale and breadth than CMG's portfolio of focused imprints.
• Routledge (Taylor & Francis): Major academic and humanities publisher within Taylor & Francis. Comparable in academic book publishing, particularly in humanities and social sciences, but at significantly larger scale.

Emerging players

• Lulu.com: Global self-publishing platform offering print-on-demand, ebook distribution, and author services. Direct competitor to Janus Publishing in the author-subsidised publishing segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cambridge-media-group

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries6 records

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 Cambridge Media Group