The Rise and Downfall of Subscription Based Media

Subscription based media has been predicted as a top trend in 2022, but is this a good thing?

Print newspapers had it easy. The paper publications charged readers for about 100 years, and readers never raised an eyebrow. However, online news sites, eager and ready to pull readers away from old habits by offering up their work free of charge, burst onto the scene. Around 20% of all newspapers in the U.S. have either gone out of business or merged with another over the last 15 years.

However, the Reuters Institute released a study asserting that many online publications are pivoting toward the goal of charging readers for content.

“Charging for online news is the end-destination for many, but expect subscription fatigue to limit progress, especially if economic conditions worsen,” the study reads.

This makes sense for many companies as it offers higher profits and higher customer loyalty. Readers also tend to view subscription based products as higher quality. The 2020 edition of the Subscription Economy Index discovered subscription companies outperform their peers by wide margins.

Despite these benefits, there is a risk of incurring a high churn rate if companies move to a subscription based model. Customer turnover is higher, as the company will experience high cancellation rates. Even more so, consumers get bored and distracted easily. As a result, news sites need to consistently offer value to their readers. They can do so by staying relevant with new services.

One disadvantage to the possible trend toward subscription based news sites is reach. Due to the paywall, these sites will not have the reach free sites have. As a result, regardless of how premium the content is, it will not be exposed to everyone. This could result in a less informed population.