Digitalbox PLC (AIM:DBOX) CEO James Carter talked with Proactive about the company’s stronger-than-expected performance for 2025 and strategic plans going into 2026.
Carter said that EBITDA will be significantly ahead of market expectations, while revenue remains broadly in line. He highlighted how Digitalbox has “delivered all that we set out to deliver, more efficiently than we perhaps planned to at the beginning of the year,” noting that the business has remained agile in challenging conditions.
A key factor in the company’s growth was the success of its Vertical strategy, particularly through launches such as Royal Insider and Reality Shrine, which have helped it build valuable US audiences. These audiences tend to monetize at roughly twice the rate of UK users.
Digitalbox is also seeing promising returns from its platform business. According to Carter, platform revenue is expected to reach around £1 million, up from near-zero levels just a few years ago.
He said, “We’re looking at opportunities that enable us to extend our own platform business as well as our open web business”.
Another growth area is TV Guide, a property the company acquired and modernized. By improving its mobile experience and introducing new content sections, Digitalbox has doubled the site’s size over two years, with around 50% of traffic now coming from Google.
On M&A, Carter said the company is considering opportunities aligned with its entertainment-focused model, as well as potential diversification. He also acknowledged sector challenges, particularly around AI disruption and the evolving role of platforms like Google.
Proactive: James, great to speak with you this morning. Your trading update notes EBITDA will be significantly ahead of market expectations while revenue remains broadly in line. What were the key drivers behind this outperformance?
James Carter: So we've certainly been bucking market trends. In the first half of the year, we were about 10% up in revenue. I’ve just looked at broader media companies—one reported a 6% drop today—whereas we’re showing a 6–7% revenue increase year on year. So we’re performing ahead of the market.
It’s been a choppy market in the second half of 2025, but we've delivered everything we set out to deliver, and done so more efficiently than originally planned. We’ve been agile and able to cope with the challenging overall conditions, and we’re delivering a stronger margin against that revenue growth.
Proactive: You say new launches like Reality Shrine and Royal Insider have contributed positively. Can we expect further launches of new sites next year?
James Carter: Certainly. Our focus has been on a Vertical strategy—building around very well-defined audience and content areas. We’ve seen strong success with Royal Insider and Reality Shrine, especially in building US audiences. That’s important because US audiences typically monetize at around double the rate of UK or other international users.
We will continue investing to expand the business. That might mean new launches, or further focus on “pure play” on-platform activity within the walled gardens. To give an idea, some social media operators generate great engagement with things like fluffy cat videos in niche spaces. We're exploring areas that allow us to grow both our platform and open web businesses.
Our platform revenue has gone from close to zero to heading towards £1 million this year. Revenue diversification is key as we move into 2026.
Proactive: You highlighted the expansion of TV Guide as a success story. Can you share more about what's fueling its growth?
James Carter: TV Guide was acquired a couple of years ago. It was struggling because it was essentially running a desktop experience on mobile, which didn’t work well. We modernized it and started to inject more than just TV listings—we added an article section, and that’s gained traction on Google. Unlike our other sites, it's running about 50% Google-sourced traffic. We only began this in October, but it’s showing great potential and has helped double the site’s size over the last two years. We’ll continue to invest there into 2026.
Proactive: You mentioned being alive to M&A opportunities. What types of businesses are you targeting?
James Carter: We're looking at opportunities that fit our existing platform and processes. Our previous acquisitions—The Poke, The Tab, Daily Mash, TV Guide—aligned with our entertainment approach. We're also open to opportunities that allow us to diversify and strengthen our model. That includes strategic partnerships or deeper relationships with other companies that can help accelerate growth and returns for shareholders.
Proactive: As you said, James, the media landscape remains challenging. What are the biggest headwinds you anticipate in 2026, and how is Digitalbox navigating these?
James Carter: There have been several headwinds this past year. The advertising market hasn’t been particularly strong—WPP forecast a 7% drop in ad revenue this year. So funding is tight. But if you have quality inventory, like we do, with strong data attached to it, you can thrive and grow share in the space.
Another challenge is platform rule changes and the use of AI. We’ve seen this with Google, where Gemini results are replacing traditional search results, reducing click-throughs for many publishers. We're addressing this by creating content that’s less likely to be crawled by large language models—mainly because of cost inefficiencies. There's less incentive to use AI to answer plotlines from Emmerdale than for high-value product searches like cars.
AI is settling somewhat, but publishers will need to split their focus between platform activity and open web. That’s what we’re planning. We're also considering introducing direct sales to agencies or clients, which we don't currently do. It’s a tough sector, but it could add value in the future.
Proactive: James, I hope you continue to keep us updated. Thank you very much for the time today.