The New York Times is one of the success stories for companies transcending the print world and making a viable profit from digital subscriptions. In an earnings call the company disclosed that they currently have 324,000 paid subscriptions in the 3rd quarter vs. 281,000 in the second quarter. That is a solid increase and shows the commercial viability of a paid news service for digital content.
The companies under the New York Times brand, such as the Boston Globe, are starting to adapt the paid subscription model and only this past week started their foray. So far though, the Times leads all companies under the brand.
Newspapers are starting to diversify and capitalize on different revenue streams. Advertisements in major newspapers in the USA have steadily eroded during the last year, as more companies switch to the digital environment to reach more customers. The Newspaper Association of America recently mentioned that web traffic for the newspapers have increased 20% in the last three months.
Part of the growing success of the New York Times, which only introduced a paid subscription plan since March 2011, has been its digital strategy. The company has made a concentrated effort to have their papers carried in major online retailers such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble. They have also developed iOS applications to reach Apple customers. The gambit seems to be paying off and the company is gaining close to 30,000 new customers per quarter.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
