Media

News websites Adopt Subscription Model, in the Facebook Era

Zyxware Technologies | Updated 29 Jul 2022 | 1 min read

The success of ‘The New York Times’ shifting its focus from advertising to subscriptions first company has encouraged many other publishers like The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, and the Financial Times to implement a paywall and moved beyond the free content. ‘The New York Times’ today, earns two-thirds of its revenue from subscriptions.

New York Media, another digital media publication has now followed the footsteps and added paywall subscriptions at a cost of $5 a month or $50 annually. For $70 a year, the company will include a print edition onetime weekly. According to the management, the pay model will allow readers access to a certain number of stories before shutting off the access.

While the recent paywall enrolments have been seen in a good light, the big media brands realize the increasing need for digital expertise rather than just publishing content. Moving past the initial success of the paywall acquisition strategy, the company will have to focus on retention in a big way. Retention of the audience that is culturally diverse is challenging and publishers are sure to be lost without clear readership insights. The only way to know what you are doing is right, is to measure it periodically and adapt them along the way.