Subscription Economy News: Week of 08/03/20

Every week, we bring you the top stories and analyses from the global Subscription Economy.

Digital Revenue Exceeds Print for 1st Time for New York Times Company

Excerpt from an article by Marc Tracy on The New York Times

Over a three-month period dominated by the coronavirus pandemic and a slowdown in advertising, The New York Times Company for the first time reported quarterly revenue that owed more to digital products than to the print newspaper.

The company added 669,000 net new digital subscribers, making the second quarter its biggest ever for subscription growth. The Times has 6.5 million total subscriptions, a figure that includes 5.7 million digital-only subscriptions, putting it on a course to achieve its stated goal of 10 million subscriptions by 2025.

“We’ve proven that it’s possible to create a virtuous circle,” Mr. Thompson said in a statement, “in which wholehearted investment in high-quality journalism drives deep audience engagement, which in turn drives revenue growth and further investment capacity.”

For more, read the full piece on The New York Times and read how Zuora helped The Seattle Times increase digital subscribers by 35% amid today’s crisis

PlayStation Plus and Disney+ both report subscription growth

Excerpt from an article on Music Ally

Sony Corporation’s results included the announcement that there are now 44.9 million people paying for the PlayStation Plus service, up from 41.5 million a quarter ago.

Meanwhile, Disney revealed the latest subscribers figure for its Disney+ service yesterday. “As of yesterday, we have surpassed 60.5 million paid subscribers globally, far exceeding our initial projections for the service,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek told analysts.

That’s up from 50 million subscribers in early April, so Disney+ has been adding around 2.6 million net new subscribers a month.

For more, read the full piece on Music Ally and read Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo’s insight on the real measure of success in the Streaming Wars 

Ipsy grows subscription beauty memberships 60% during pandemic

Excerpt from an article by Stephanie Crets on DigitalCommerce360

While consumers were sheltering at home because of the coronavirus pandemic, subscription cosmetics retailer Ipsy found more opportunities to connect with its current customers and acquire new ones.

Ipsy’s new customers grew 60% month over month since mid-March to end of July. And it has generated more than triple the revenue in this time period compared with the 2.5 months of pre COVID-19 ecommerce sales, the retailer says without revealing specifics. The retailer credits this growth in members and revenue to the new ways it reached its customers online, such as with a virtual beauty event and allowing shoppers to purchase single products outside of a subscription.

Ipsy tuned into more personalization because consumers’ behaviors are changing given the pandemic, the company says, noting shoppers want more personalization and control. “We are catering to new needs that have emerged through the pandemic,” the company says.

For more, read the full piece on DigitalCommerce360

Scoop: Bloomberg and The Athletic to bundle subscriptions

Excerpt from an article by Sara Fischer on Axios

Bloomberg Media will launch a bundled subscription with The Athletic beginning this month.

Bloomberg Media sees value in partnering with niche media outlets that it thinks can complement its coverage. In February, it announced a subscription bundle with The Information, a high-end business and tech publication.

The bundle comes with a discount. Those who purchase the $290 annual Bloomberg.com subscription (originally $415/year) will receive a free trial to The Athletic for six months, while those who opt for the $1.99 monthly subscription (originally $34.99/month) will have three months of free access to the sports news site.

The subscription landscape is growing so competitive that news companies banding together to sell joint subscription packages may be the next big trend.

For more, read the full piece on Axios

 

For more Subscription Economy resources and events, head to www.subscribed.com and subscribe to Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo’s Subscribed Weekly newsletter, coming to your inbox every Saturday. 

Recommended for you

ZEOs Investing in Women this International Women’s Day
Strategic Insights from Zuora’s Subscribed Institute Executive Breakfast in London
How to create personalized subscriptions using Zephr