Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking at a legacy media giant making a sharp turn in late 2025, and honestly, the numbers tell a compelling story of survival. This company is aggressively leaning into paid digital services-like their digital reading mini-programs-to offset a cautious advertising market, even while shelling out a hefty RMB50 million annually for exclusive content from its TV partner. With about RMB1 billion in cash reserves as of Q3 2025, they have the runway, but the real action is in the subscription side: paid content revenue has surged an incredible 279.2% to RMB38.3 million that same quarter. Dive below to see the full Business Model Canvas mapping out how this pivot is structured, from key partnerships to their cost control measures.

Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

You're looking at the core relationships that make Phoenix New Media Limited's (FENG) content strategy work in late 2025. These partnerships are essential for securing premium content and distributing the high-growth paid services.

The most significant, recurring financial commitment in this area is with Phoenix Satellite Television. For the license period covering much of 2025, the annual fees payable for the exclusive right to broadcast copyrighted video content across internet and mobile channels in mainland China were set at RMB50.0 million, based on the agreement running until August 23, 2025. This relationship provides the foundational premium content that underpins the entire brand reputation.

The explosive growth in paid services is directly tied to third-party application platforms. These platforms host the digital reading mini-programs, which are the engine behind the segment's massive expansion. For instance, in the first quarter of 2025, revenues from paid content-largely from these digital reading services-hit RMB31.2 million, representing a staggering year-over-year growth rate of 387.5%. By the third quarter of 2025, total paid services revenue reached RMB41.6 million.

Here's a quick look at the financial impact of these content and distribution partnerships through the first three quarters of 2025:

Other key alliances support reach and brand visibility, though specific 2025 financial contributions are less granularly reported:

• Telecom operators: Maintain operations to provide mobile value-added services (MVAS) to users, leveraging existing network infrastructure.
• Event co-organizers: Form strategic alliances for high-profile, brand-building activities, such as the Phoenix Financial Forum for the Greater Bay Area 2025, which served as a high-level platform for dialogue.

If onboarding the next wave of mini-program partners takes longer than expected, that 387.5% growth momentum could definitely slow down. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're looking at how Phoenix New Media Limited generates value right now, late in 2025. The core activities revolve around content, platform operation, and monetization through advertising and paid services.

Content innovation and IP creation to maintain a premium brand image

Phoenix New Media Limited focuses on high-quality original content and leveraging key Intellectual Property (IP) to keep its brand image strong. This activity underpins both advertising appeal and paid service growth.

The company's flagship events are a major part of this. For instance, the Phoenix Bay Area Finance Forum 2025 in Guangzhou generated over 720 million total impressions in the third quarter of 2025. Key IP programs continued to deliver both impact and reputation throughout Q3 2025.

Operating an integrated digital platform across PC and mobile applications

The company runs an integrated platform spanning its PC channel, ifeng.com, and its mobile channel, which includes news applications like ifeng News, video applications, and digital reading applications. The platform delivers professional news and quality information across these endpoints.

The overall financial results reflect the platform's performance across segments:

Developing and marketing digital reading services via third-party mini-programs

This is a significant growth driver, showing up strongly in the paid services segment. The focus here is on developing and marketing digital reading content distributed through mini-programs on third-party applications.

The success of this activity is clear in the revenue jump:

• Revenues from paid contents increased by 279.2% year-over-year in Q3 2025, reaching RMB 38.3 million.
• This contrasts with Q3 2024 paid content revenue of RMB 10.1 million.
• Overall Paid Services Revenues for Q3 2025 were RMB 41.6 million, a massive 161.6% increase from RMB 15.9 million in Q3 2024.

Hosting influential offline events for brand marketing and client engagement

Hosting events like the Phoenix Bay Area Finance Forum 2025 is a key activity for brand marketing and client engagement, supporting the overall media offering.

The Phoenix Star awards also triggered enthusiastic organic promotion from awardees and broad coverage from mainstream business and finance media outlets, creating a second wave of dissemination during Q3 2025.

Managing net advertising sales and client relationships

Managing net advertising sales remains a primary revenue activity, though growth has been more modest compared to paid services. This involves maintaining relationships with existing clients and acquiring new advertisers.

Net advertising revenues for the third quarter of 2025 were RMB 159.3 million. This represented a 7.3% year-on-year increase from RMB 148.4 million in the same period of 2024. So, the core ad business is still contributing the bulk of the top line.

Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

You're looking at the core assets Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG) brings to the table as of late 2025. These aren't just line items; they are the engines driving their strategy.

The Phoenix brand name remains a defintely premium, trustworthy asset in Chinese media. This heritage, originating from the leading global Chinese language TV network based in Hong Kong, Phoenix TV, gives the platform an immediate layer of credibility when delivering news and quality information.

The company's operational backbone is its integrated Internet platform, which spans multiple access points to reach its audience across China. This multi-channel approach is crucial for content distribution.

• PC Channel: The flagship website, ifeng.com, which includes various interest-based verticals and interactive services.
• Mobile Channel: Consisting of mobile news applications, mobile video application, digital reading applications, and the mobile Internet website.
• Video Channel: Specifically mentioned as v.ifeng.com.
• Telecom Operations: Engagements providing mobile value-added services.

Phoenix New Media Limited's high-quality original content library and production capabilities are what feed these platforms. Management has pointed to sustained content innovation and leveraging these capabilities to foster new commercial partnerships, such as the Star Anchor Program, which reportedly tripled revenue year-to-date in Q3 2025.

From a liquidity standpoint, the balance sheet shows a solid foundation. As of September 30, 2025, Phoenix New Media Limited held RMB1.0 billion in cash and equivalents, term deposits, and short-term investments, which translated to approximately US$140.5 million. This cash position is a key resource for navigating the near-term, especially given the company reported a net loss for the period.

To give you a clearer picture of the recent operational scale supporting these resources, here are the key financial figures from the latest reported quarter:

The company's Q4 2025 outlook suggests continued activity, forecasting total revenues between RMB 205.9 million and RMB 220.9 million. Honestly, that cash pile of RMB 1 billion is the real safety net while they push for better profitability from those revenue streams.

Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

Professional news and high-quality information for an affluent audience.

Phoenix New Media Limited is a subsidiary of Phoenix Satellite Television (B.V.I.) Holding Limited, which grants the brand a reputational moat as a source of professional news and high-quality information.

Exclusive video content licensed from Phoenix TV.

The platform enables consumers to access content originating from the leading global Chinese language TV network, Phoenix TV.

Diverse, interest-based content verticals (finance, tech, military, etc.).

Phoenix New Media Limited provides content across various interest-based verticals:

• News
• Military affairs
• Video
• Technology
• Finance
• Entertainment
• Automobiles
• Sports
• Real estate
• Home living
• Fashion
• History

Video accounts and tech channels showed substantial follower and revenue growth in Q3 2025.

Digital reading services with a focus on paid content via mini-programs.

The growth in Paid Services is a key value driver, evidenced by the following financial metrics:

The Q4 2025 guidance projects paid service revenues between RMB 34.5 million and RMB 39.5 million.

High-impact brand amplification for advertisers via influential events.

Brand influence is measured through large-scale campaign metrics, such as the Phoenix Bay Area Finance Forum 2025, which achieved over 720 million total impressions and appeared on 63 trending lists.

Advertising revenue performance for the same period reflects the value delivered to brand partners:

The Q4 2025 guidance projects net advertising revenues between RMB 171.4 million and RMB 181.4 million.

Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG) keeps its users and premium clients engaged in late 2025. The relationship strategy is a mix of high-volume self-service and high-touch client management, defintely a dual approach.

Self-service via mobile and PC applications for content consumption

The core relationship is direct and on-demand, letting users consume content when and where they want. This happens across their integrated Internet platform, which includes the PC channel, ifeng.com, and their mobile channel.

• The mobile channel includes mobile news applications, a mobile video application, digital reading applications, and the i.ifeng.com mobile Internet website.
• The company's Phoenix video accounts showed strong traction, gaining nearly 0.5 million new followers in the third quarter of 2025 alone.
• The platform also facilitates access to content through third-party applications via digital reading services offered through mini-programs.

Interactive services like comment postings and user surveys on ifeng.com

Engagement isn't just one-way; the platform is built to foster user interaction. The PC channel, specifically ifeng.com, is designed to comprise interest-based verticals and interactive services.

While the company utilizes user surveys as part of its service offering, specific participation rates for Q3 2025 aren't publicly detailed. Still, the existence of these features shows a commitment to gathering direct user feedback.

Dedicated sales and account management for premium advertising clients

For premium advertising clients, the relationship is managed directly. This high-touch service is crucial as it underpins a significant portion of the revenue base. The company focuses on delivering tailored, high impact solutions for these partners.

Here's a look at the financial results that reflect the success of these client relationships through Q3 2025:

The growth in paid services, which reached RMB 41.6 million in Q3 2025, is particularly noteworthy, showing a 161.6% year-on-year jump, largely from digital reading services.

Community engagement through flagship events and content campaigns

Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG) uses large-scale offline and online events to deepen community ties and amplify brand influence for clients. These events create significant buzz and convert content influence into commercial value.

• The Shanxi Culture and Tourism Development Promotion Event generated over 2 billion online impressions across 29 trending mentions in early September 2025.
• The Phoenix Bay Area Finance Forum 2025 in Guangzhou achieved over 720 million total impressions and appeared on 63 trending lists, trending simultaneously on Weibo, Kuaishou, and Douyin.
• Key IP programs, like the Phoenix Star awards, also created a second wave of dissemination through enthusiastic organic promotion from awardees and broad media coverage.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

PC Channel: ifeng.com website and its interest-based content verticals.

In October 2025, news.ifeng.com recorded 31.6M Total Visits, with a Bounce Rate of 45.85% and an average of 2.75 Pages per Visit. Over the last three months leading up to October 2025, the global ranking for news.ifeng.com increased from 2,015 to 2,220. The interest-based content verticals include news, military affairs, video, technology, finance, entertainment, automobiles, sports, real estate, home living, fashion, and history.

Mobile Channel: ifeng News, ifeng Video, and digital reading applications.

Phoenix New Media Limited provides content through its mobile channel, which consists of the ifeng News application, the ifeng Video application, i.ifeng.com mobile Internet website, and digital reading applications. The company also provides mobile newspaper and mobile video services.

Third-Party Mini-Programs: Primary distribution for digital reading paid services.

Revenues from paid contents, driven by digital reading services offered through mini-programs on third-party applications, reached RMB 38.3 million in the third quarter of 2025. This represented a 279.2% year-over-year increase from RMB 10.1 million in the third quarter of 2024. For the first quarter of 2025, paid services revenues were RMB 34.7 million, a 141.0% surge year-over-year.

Offline Events: Hosting summits and forums for B2B and public sector engagement.

Phoenix New Media Limited hosted influential offline events, such as the Shanxi Culture and Tourism Promotion Event, which generated over 2 billion online impressions.

The following table summarizes the financial contribution of the primary revenue-generating channels based on the third quarter of 2025 results:

The company also reported that total operating expenses increased by 23.6% to RMB 109 million in the third quarter of 2025, primarily due to higher sales and marketing costs associated with these distribution channels.

The company's platform enables consumers to access professional news and other quality information through their PCs and mobile devices.

• PC Channel Interactive Services include comment postings and user surveys.
• Mobile Channel includes mobile news applications and mobile video application.
• The company also has operations with telecom operators providing mobile value-added services.

Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're looking at the core groups Phoenix New Media Limited serves as of late 2025, and the numbers show a clear shift in focus. The company operates through two main segments: Net Advertising Services and Paid Services, which directly map to these customer groups.

Premium Advertisers

These clients are paying for access to the loyal user base built over years on ifeng.com and the mobile channels. They are the backbone of the traditional model, though that backbone is evolving. For the third quarter of 2025, net advertising revenues hit RMB 159.3 million (US$22.4 million). That's a 7.3% year-over-year increase from the RMB 148.4 million in Q3 2024. Still, you see the pressure when you look at Q2 2025 net advertising revenues, which were RMB 153.3 million, a slight dip from the RMB 154.7 million in Q2 2024. The estimated full-year 2025 revenue projection puts Net Advertising Services at CNY 609.5 million, which is still about 80.6% of the total expected revenue. This segment is definitely still the largest earner, but the growth rate isn't matching the newer segment.

Mass Chinese Internet Users

This is the broad audience consuming the general news, video, and lifestyle content across Phoenix New Media Limited's integrated platform. They are the audience that advertisers, both premium and otherwise, are trying to reach. The platform offers content through its PC channel, ifeng.com, and its mobile channel, which includes the ifeng News application and ifeng Video application. The company is still gaining traction here; for instance, their Phoenix video accounts added nearly 0.5 million new followers in Q3 2025 alone. This user base supports the advertising revenue stream, which remains substantial.

• News and Military Affairs
• Video and Live Broadcasting
• Technology and Finance
• Automobiles and Sports
• Real Estate and Home Living

Digital Reading Subscribers

This segment represents the fastest-growing revenue source, users who pay for content, primarily through digital reading services embedded in third-party mini-programs. The growth here is explosive. Paid services revenues in Q3 2025 reached RMB 41.6 million (US$5.8 million), a massive 161.6% jump from the RMB 15.9 million in Q3 2024. Looking at paid content specifically, revenue surged 279.2% year-over-year to RMB 38.3 million in Q3 2025. This diversification is key; the estimated FY 2025 Paid Services revenue is projected at CNY 147.1 million, making up 19.4% of the total. If onboarding takes 14+ days, churn risk rises, but the Q1 2025 paid services revenue of RMB 34.7 million, up 141% year-on-year, shows the momentum started early.

B2B/Public Sector Clients

These clients engage through large-scale brand marketing events and innovative content IPs, which feed into the Net Advertising Services revenue. The company uses its influential offline events and original content to secure these partnerships. For example, innovative content IPs like the KeyC Alien co-creation model and the "Why It Is" series generated significant engagement and unlocked new branding partnerships in 2025. These high-profile engagements are what attract the premium advertisers mentioned earlier, helping to stabilize the advertising base despite market pressure. The company maintains a solid liquidity position to support these large-scale activations, holding RMB 1 billion (approximately USD 140.5 million) in cash and cash equivalents, term deposits, short-term investments, and restricted cash as of September 30, 2025.

Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at the core expenses Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG) is managing to keep its integrated PC and mobile platform running and growing its paid services, especially digital reading. Honestly, these costs are where the rubber meets the road for their profitability goals.

The most concrete figures we have right now come from the first half of 2025 and the latest reported quarter, Q3 2025. You need to know that the cost structure is heavily influenced by content licensing and the push for digital reading user acquisition.

Content Acquisition Costs

Content remains a fixed, significant outlay. Phoenix New Media Limited recently updated its arrangement with its parent-related entity, Phoenix TV. The annual fee under the new Program License Agreement, effective August 24, 2025, through August 23, 2027, has been set at RMB55 million. This is an increase from the RMB50 million annual fee under the prior agreement that ran until August 23, 2025. This new fee also covers expanded rights, including use on transportation vessels and for artificial intelligence-related applications.

Sales and Marketing Expenses

The drive for digital reading services is clearly hitting the operating expense line. For the third quarter of 2025, total operating expenses reached RMB109 million, which was a 23.6% increase year-on-year from RMB88.2 million in Q3 2024. Management explicitly stated this jump was primarily due to higher sales and marketing expenses incurred to promote the digital reading services offered through mini-programs.

Cost of Revenues

The company has been actively managing its direct costs associated with generating revenue. For the first quarter of 2025, the Cost of Revenues decreased by 15.1% to RMB92.5 million (US$12.8 million), down from RMB109.0 million in Q1 2024. This reduction was attributed to the Company's strict cost control measures.

Technology and Platform Maintenance and Personnel Costs

While we see the impact on total operating expenses, specific line items for technology maintenance and personnel aren't broken out separately in the same way as the other figures. The platform itself is an integrated PC and mobile offering, including ifeng.com, mobile apps, and digital reading applications. Personnel costs cover the necessary salaries for the content creators, tech teams supporting the platform, and the sales staff driving advertising and paid services.

Here's a snapshot of the quantifiable cost elements we can track from the latest reports:

The growth in paid services revenue, which surged 161.6% year-on-year to RMB41.6 million in Q3 2025, is directly linked to the higher sales and marketing spend needed to acquire those users. It's a classic trade-off: spend more to grow a high-margin revenue stream.

• Content Acquisition Fee (Previous Agreement): RMB50.0 million annually.
• Sales and Marketing Expense Growth Driver: Digital reading services promotion.
• Cost of Revenues Reduction: 15.1% decrease in Q1 2025 YoY.
• Total Operating Expense Increase (Q3 2025 YoY): 23.6%.

Phoenix New Media Limited (FENG) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at the hard numbers for how Phoenix New Media Limited generates its income as of late 2025. It's all about the content monetization mix, and the shift is definitely visible in the latest figures.

The primary engine remains Net Advertising Services. For the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, this segment brought in RMB159.3 million, which was a 7.3% increase year-over-year from RMB148.4 million in Q3 2024. This still represents the bulk of the total revenue, which hit RMB200.9 million for the quarter, up 22.3% year-on-year.

The real story, though, is the growth in Paid Services. This segment is expanding fast, reaching RMB41.6 million in Q3 2025, a massive 161.6% jump from RMB15.9 million in the prior year period. This growth is clearly diversifying the income base away from pure advertising reliance.

Within Paid Services, Paid Content Revenues is the star performer. Driven heavily by digital reading services offered through mini-programs on third-party applications, this revenue stream surged by 279.2% to RMB38.3 million in Q3 2025, up from RMB10.1 million in Q3 2024.

Here's the quick math on how those Paid Services break down based on the reported figures:

The E-commerce and Others component, which is the smaller piece of the Paid Services pie, accounts for the remainder, calculated at RMB3.3 million (RMB41.6 million total Paid Services minus RMB38.3 million Paid Content).

Phoenix New Media Limited also generates revenue from its operations with telecom operators, which falls under Mobile Value-Added Services (MVAS). This channel is part of their mobile platform strategy, which also includes mobile news applications and mobile video applications. The specific financial contribution for MVAS in Q3 2025 wasn't explicitly detailed as a standalone line item in the top-level breakdown provided.

You can see the full revenue picture for the quarter:

• Total Revenues: RMB200.9 million
• Net Advertising Revenues: RMB159.3 million
• Total Paid Services Revenues: RMB41.6 million
• Cash and equivalents, term deposits, short-term investments, and restricted cash totaled RMB 1 billion as of September 30, 2025.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.