In this week’s Briefing:
- New data on consumer perception of news subscriptions from The Reuters Institute reinforces the need for differentiated, high-quality content and habit formation.
- Apple will allow users to unlock subscriber-only content from third-party subscriptions within its Podcasts app.
- Misleading subscription practices risk undermining publishers’ editorial credibility.
New subscription survey data from The Reuters Institute
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism released some new subscription-related data from survey responses it collected for its 2023 Digital News Report in January and February. The data – from respondents across 20 countries – reinforces what many publishers are already aware of, including:
- News subscribers say they are attracted by a combination of distinctive high-quality, curated, and exclusive content, identification with brands, and a desire to support quality journalism
- Low-priced introductory offers are effective at attracting new subscribers but some customers fail to see value when prices are increased at renewal.
- Twenty-eight percent of U.S. respondents said they canceled subscriptions in the prior year, while 66% percent said their number of subscriptions increased or stayed the same.
- Long-term news subscribers tend to be male, older, richer, and better educated, with a strong interest in news and politics. Younger subscribers tend to pay less and are more likely to make donations than older groups.
- For some people, the value of news subscriptions is partly conditioned by the amount and quality of free content (from both commercial and public service outlets) available in a market, as well as by the price and experience of entertainment services such as TV, sport, and music.
- Around half of non-subscribers said that nothing could persuade them to pay for online news. Others said they could be attracted by a lower price, more relevant content, or less cluttered (ad-free) websites and apps. Barriers to subscription include price, value for money, the time required to take full advantage of subscriptions, and not wanting to rely on a single source for information.
The numbers echo the findings of similar research conducted by Toolkits a few months prior, which also found that 73% of U.S. consumers don’t currently subscribe to digital publications, many hold multiple subscriptions, and that the leading cause for cancellation was lack of use.
Apple connects its Podcasts app to publisher subscriptions
Paywalling podcasts has proved complicated for publishers to date, largely because audiences typically prefer to listen via major platforms such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and those platforms have not offered robust mechanisms allowing publishers to unlock content for authenticated subscribers.
That’s changing, though, and recent updates from major podcast platforms have made paywalling podcasts a far more viable option for publishers. In the latest version of its mobile operating system, iOS 17, Apple introduced the ability for users to connect subscriptions to third-party services to its Podcasts app, and to unlock access to subscriber-only content as a result.
“Listeners can connect their paid subscriptions to select apps on the App Store to enjoy new shows and additional premium audio benefits included as part of their existing subscriptions,” the company said.
If a user subscribes to a publisher’s product via Apple’s App Store, their subscription will automatically connect to the Podcasts app to unlock subscriber-only content. Users who subscribe using other methods – such as via a publisher’s website – must manually connect their subscriptions by signing in.
Starting in October, listeners will be able to connect their subscriptions to Bloomberg, Curio, L’Équipe, Mamamia, The Economist, The Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and WELT News, Apple said. The company also implied it may help audiences discover publishers’ paywalled content by surfacing and flagging it in various places across its app.
Publishers have dabbled with subscriber-only podcasts in recent years, but few have opted to make audio a core part of their subscription offerings. That’s changing as audience demand for audio continues to grow, major platforms such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify add support for subscriber-only content, and publishers increasingly look for ways to offer audiences a broader array of subscription products and options.
A handful of major publishers are now opting to make podcasts and other audio content available only to paying subscribers, and others say they’re considering doing the same.
Also worth noting:
- Publishers remain unclear on whether or not they can realistically stop their content from being used to train AI platforms and models, despite companies such as OpenAI and Google saying they can opt out via their robots.txt files.
- Swedish news publisher Aftonbladet says it’s continued to grow its subscriber revenues despite its subscriber base leveling off. The publisher says it’s raised pricing consistently over the past four years and has doubled average its revenue per subscriber and overall subscription revenue.