The publisher game is a tough one right now. There are so many external forces pressing against them with marketing budgets ebbing and flowing with COVID, changing audience habits, increasing limits on resources. Worse, the exceptional increase of digital makes entering the sphere of influence quite inexpensive.
Publishers sell on engaged access. They lure with a massive flow of great content and constantly work to increase their reach through data. So, when you are assessing publisher partners, you need to assess on reach (for sure) but engagement is now also trackable.
Choosing The Right Publisher Partners