The Scarborough News

What The Scarborough News does

The Scarborough News is a regional digital news publication serving the North Yorkshire coastal communities of Scarborough, Whitby, Bridlington, Filey, and surrounding areas in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1882, the publication operates today as a digital-first outlet under the ownership of Iconic Media Group Limited (company number 11499982, registered in England and Wales with headquarters at 22 Princes Street, London W1B 2LU). The publication sits within a broader Iconic Media Group portfolio that also includes National World, Express and Star, JPIMedia Publishing, Insider Media, and National World Scotsman Publications.

Its core product is the website thescarboroughnews.co.uk, which aggregates hyperlocal coverage across news, sport, crime, politics, health, education, lifestyle, and entertainment categories, supplemented by a daily email newsletter ("The Scarborough News Today"), a video section ("Watch This"), a searchable article archive spanning 2018-2026, a photo sales platform at iconic.newsprints.co.uk, and a family announcements portal. The underlying technology is a standard web publishing platform with cookie-based analytics (Google Analytics), advertising identity and cross-channel tools (LiveRamp, 1PlusX AG), and video content integration; the site is built to W3C WAI Single A accessibility standards and is GDPR-compliant.

The business operates a hybrid revenue model combining digital advertising — display ads and sponsored "Ad Feature" / "Must Read" sections — with subscription revenue from an "ad-lite" tier that offers 70% fewer advertisements on a monthly billing cadence. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the website and newsletter, with primary readership among local residents and a secondary commercial segment of local businesses purchasing advertising reach. Headcount is in the 11-50 range, and revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

The Scarborough News

Legal name

Iconic Media Group Limited

Website

https://thescarboroughnews.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1882

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Scarborough News is a regional digital news publication serving North Yorkshire coastal communities including Scarborough, Whitby, Bridlington, and Filey, operating a website and newsletter on an advertising and ad-lite subscription model under Iconic Media Group ownership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local News Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Local news publishing
• Regional digital news
• Community journalism
• Online newspaper
• News subscription service

Headquarters

HQ city

Scarborough

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: The Scarborough News generates revenue through subscription offerings, including an 'ad-lite' subscription tier that provides 70% fewer advertisements to subscribers.
2. Digital Advertising: The publication generates advertising revenue through display advertisements on its website and sponsored content sections, including 'Ad Feature' and 'Must Read' sections.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Scarborough News is a regional digital news publication that produces and distributes hyper-local journalism covering news, sport, lifestyle, crime, politics, health, education, and entertainment for Scarborough, Whitby, Bridlington, Filey, and surrounding North Yorkshire coastal communities. Its core offering is a free, ad-supported news website (thescarboroughnews.co.uk) with optional paid ad-lite subscription tier, complemented by a daily newsletter, video content, a searchable historical archive, photo sales, and a family announcements portal.

Product overview

The Scarborough News is a regional digital news platform operated by Iconic Media Group Limited, offering a unified digital news service for the Yorkshire coastal region. The core product is the news website (thescarboroughnews.co.uk) which aggregates local news, sport, crime, politics, health, lifestyle, and entertainment content. The service operates on a subscription model with tiered access including a standard free/ad-supported tier and premium ad-lite subscriptions. The product portfolio includes the core website, newsletter subscription service, video content section, searchable archive spanning 2018-2026, photo sales platform, and family announcements portal. Content is delivered through automated technologies including cookies for analytics and advertising personalization, with no public API or AI capabilities mentioned in the source materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Scarborough News Website
• Newsletter Subscription

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Iconic Media Group (formerly National World)coreOthersThe Scarborough News is owned and operated by Iconic Media Group Limited, one of the largest local and regional media organisations in the UK. The publication is part of a portfolio of publications and websites serving communities across the UK.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• National World: Sister brand within the same Iconic Media Group / National World portfolio. Operates a national-news digital platform that cross-promotes with regional titles like The Scarborough News and shares back-office infrastructure and sales.

Regional players

• Hull Daily Mail: Regional title for Hull and East Yorkshire, with comparable digital news, subscription, and local advertising products. Serves an adjacent but distinct geography from Scarborough News, both rooted in the historic regional press tradition.
• Yorkshire Post: The flagship regional newspaper for Yorkshire, including the Scarborough area. Operates the same digital subscription + advertising model but at a broader regional scale, competing for the same North Yorkshire audience and ad budgets.
• The Press (York): Regional daily serving York and surrounding North Yorkshire. Uses a similar digital-first local news approach with subscriptions, newsletters, and display ads, and competes for overlapping reader and advertiser pools in North Yorkshire.

Direct peers

• Whitby Gazette: Hyper-local newspaper covering Whitby and surrounding North Yorkshire coast — the same geographic market as The Scarborough News. Both serve overlapping Yorkshire coastal communities with similar local news, advertising, and subscription models.
• Bridlington Free Press: Long-running local paper covering Bridlington and the East Riding coast, also covered by The Scarborough News. Comparable scale, format, and regional digital news + print lineage, often grouped under the same regional publishing portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• Archant (formerly): Historic UK regional publisher (now restructured into Iliffe Media and others) operating community and regional news titles under a similar digital + print subscription model. Relevant for benchmarking the structural trajectory of small UK regional newsrooms.
• BBC North Yorkshire: BBC's regional news operation covering North Yorkshire including Scarborough, Whitby, and Filey. Competes for the same local news audience with publicly-funded free content, putting structural pressure on paid local subscriptions.
• Manchester Evening News (Reach plc): Flagship regional digital news property of Reach plc, the UK's largest regional publisher. Operates the same digital-first subscription + programmatic ad + newsletter model and serves as a benchmark for monetization and scale in UK regional news.
• Newsquest Media Group: One of the UK's largest regional newspaper publishers, operating hundreds of local titles with similar subscription and digital ad models. Competes directly for national advertising budgets and exemplifies the consolidating regional news landscape.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thescarboronews

Compliance3 records

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 The Scarborough News