Why Publishers Need Live Events Strategies to Thrive

Publishers are increasingly recognizing the importance of live events as a critical revenue stream and a means of building direct relationships with their existing audiences. Time and Axios, in particular, are scaling up their live event strategies, with Time projecting that events and related digital revenue will account for half of its total revenue by 2026, up from 28% in 2023.

Axios Live revenue has already grown by over 30% in 2026, and the company has held 160 events this year, compared to 11 in 2022. The shift towards live events comes as digital publishers face pressure from AI-generated answers and changing search behavior, which threaten referral traffic and advertising revenue. Publishers are also seeing increased value from advertisers, who are allocating more of their marketing budgets to live events.

This is due to the unique advantages that publisher-led events offer, such as editorial credibility and content amplification. Advertisers benefit from aligning with a trusted brand in front of a highly engaged audience, which transfers to the sponsor in ways that traditional media buys rarely can.