Revenue at Open Road Integrated Media saw a 36% increase in the first half of 2019 over the comparable period in 2018. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) improved by 72%, the company reported.
Paul Slavin, CEO of Open Road, attributed the improvement in part to Open Road Ignition, the company's e-book marketing/distribution service program, which saw an average increase of 108% or on sales over prior average sales for the participating titles. “We continue to see opportunity to grow revenue for our partners even as sales across the industry stagnate or decline,” Slavin said in a statement. “Our title count through Ignition has grown substantially and sales through that business have increased 406%.”
Ignition is representative of a new direction at ORIM, which has shifted business models since its founding in 2009. The program comprises a group of content marketing services, including ORIM's six digital properties, which the company said reach 2.4 million readers monthly: Early Bird Books, a daily e-book deals newsletter and website; The Lineup, a true crime, horror, and paranormal site; The Portalist, which focuses on science fiction and fantasy; Murder & Mayhem, which covers mystery and thrillers; The Archive, which is dedicated to history and nonfiction; and A Love So True, a romance site. Currently, the company estimates that roughly 8,000 titles from trade publishers and self-published authors are promoted through the program.
