‘Peak subscription’ and the paywall shakeup

The viability of subscription models for media has been called into question in recent weeks, spurred largely by the demise of CNN+, Quartz’s decision to drop its metered paywall, and a decline in Netflix subscribers. Taken together against a backdrop of soaring inflation and consumer spending cutbacks, these events have prompted some journalists and commentators to question if we’ve reached “peak subscription.” The reality is that a shakeup was inevitable for publishers’ subscription products, and potentially overdue.  Many publishers rushed to bring subscription products to market in recent years with relatively weak value propositions and tenuous roadmaps. Relatively few have succeeded in piecing together products and models that will be sustainable long-t