How Much MONEY 'The Daily Wire' Makes | Ben Shapiro

Summary

The Daily Wire's business has seen growth through various revenue drivers including advertising, merchandise, and subscriptions. Recent highlights include a significant surge in subscribers following the release of Matt's documentary, although film profits are constrained by high costs. Jeremy's Razors has emerged as a fast-growing segment, while the Children's Network remains free but may become a paid offering. The company is focusing on strengthening its direct-to-platform strategy, shifting users away from external services like YouTube to protect its content and grow its subscriber base. An upgraded app is also in development to enhance user experience and monetization.

Takeaways

• 😀 Advertising remains a significant revenue driver, contributing 25-30% of the business's total revenue.
• 😀 Merchandising, particularly Jeremy's Razors, contributes around 5-10% of revenue and has seen rapid growth.
• 😀 Subscriptions are a key revenue stream, with the Daily Wire's website currently boasting over a million subscribers.
• 😀 The *Matt's Documentary* led to the largest subscriber surge in Daily Wire's history, illustrating the power of exclusive content.
• 😀 Producing documentaries is financially expensive, with distribution costs and revenue splits often limiting profits from theatrical releases.
• 😀 The *Matt's Documentary* became available exclusively for streaming on the Daily Wire website, driving additional subscriptions.
• 😀 The Children's Network (Bent Key) currently generates no independent revenue, though it attracts a large number of users.
• 😀 Future plans involve monetizing the Children's Network, possibly through paid upgrades to Daily Wire Plus.
• 😀 The company is focusing on driving users directly to its own platform to avoid reliance on third-party platforms like YouTube.
• 😀 Content available on the Daily Wire app is sometimes uncensored and offers different material compared to other platforms like YouTube.
• 😀 The company is upgrading its app to improve user experience and enhance its platform for better content delivery and user retention.

Q & A

What are the primary revenue drivers for The Daily Wire?

The primary revenue drivers for The Daily Wire are advertising (25-30% of the business), merchandise (around 5-10% from Jeremy's Razors), and subscriptions, with subscriptions being the largest revenue source.

How does The Daily Wire generate revenue from its documentaries?

Documentaries contribute to subscriber growth, as exclusive content like Matt's documentary drove the highest single-day subscriber increase in company history. However, the costs of making and distributing documentaries, along with revenue splits with theaters, make them financially challenging.

Why is The Daily Wire focusing on its own platform rather than relying on third-party platforms like YouTube?

The Daily Wire is focusing on its own platform to avoid potential censorship and control over content that could arise from third-party platforms like YouTube, where content can be flagged or demonetized.

What role does the subscription base play in The Daily Wire's financial strategy?

The subscription base is the largest revenue stream for The Daily Wire, with over a million subscribers. Exclusive content, like documentaries and TV shows, drives this growth by attracting new users to the platform.

How did Matt's documentary impact subscriber growth at The Daily Wire?

Matt's documentary had a massive impact on subscriber growth, with the company experiencing its highest single-day subscriber increase when the film was made available for streaming on their website.

What challenges does The Daily Wire face with its merchandising, specifically Jeremy's Razors?

Jeremy's Razors has grown quickly, which has led to logistical challenges and a need for further investment to scale the business and meet demand.

How does The Daily Wire plan to monetize its children's network, Bent Key?

The Daily Wire's children's network, Bent Key, is currently offered for free to subscribers, but the company plans to introduce a monetization strategy by either charging for it or integrating it as a paid feature within Daily Wire Plus in the future.

What future plans does The Daily Wire have for its app?

The Daily Wire plans to upgrade its app to improve user experience, making it more user-friendly and enhancing its capabilities to support better content delivery and engagement with both free and paying users.

What is the significance of the direct-to-platform strategy for The Daily Wire?

The direct-to-platform strategy is vital for maintaining control over content and avoiding reliance on third-party platforms, like YouTube, which may impose content restrictions. This also helps build a loyal user base and create a more sustainable revenue model.

How does The Daily Wire manage content distribution to avoid censorship on platforms like YouTube?

To avoid censorship on platforms like YouTube, The Daily Wire publishes some content, including controversial material, exclusively on Daily Wire Plus, ensuring that subscribers have access to uncensored versions of shows that may be flagged elsewhere.