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

Disney Plus Sets Combined Subscription Deal with Brazil’s Globoplay

Excerpt from an article by John Hopewell on Variety

Disney Plus has signed a joint subscription deal in Brazil with Globoplay, the ambitious and fast-growing SVOD platform of giant Brazilian broadcast group Globo, the biggest media company in Latin America.

Announced Tuesday, the strategic partnership sees Disney Plus being made available for purchase in Brazil by Globoplay via a combined subscription offer for both Globoplay and Disney Plus which comes at a discounted price of R$43.90 ($7.6) a month. The Disney Plus-Globoplay combo offer kicks in on Nov. 3, a fortnight before Disney Plus launches across Latin America, including Brazil, on Nov. 17.

The alliance will not see the partners sharing an interface, but it does points to a discount joint subscription partnership model that may become a building trend as even the biggest SVOD players seek to ensure audience reach in a bitterly competitive market.

For more, read the full article in Variety

Subscription-Revenue Gains Help New York Times Weather Ad Declines

Excerpt from an article by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg on The Wall Street Journal

New York Times Co. said third-quarter revenue fell slightly, as strong subscription growth was more than offset by a steep advertising decline partly caused by the continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The media company posted a 13% rise in subscription revenue, with digital subscriptions accounting for a larger revenue share than print subscriptions for the first time in the company’s history.

Chief Executive Meredith Kopit Levien said digital subscriptions are “not just the central engine of the Company’s growth, but on its way to being our largest revenue stream.”

The company said it expected its total subscription revenue to rise about 14% in the fourth quarter, driven by a 35% gain in digital-subscription revenue. It also predicted a 30% drop in advertising revenue in the same quarter as the effects of coronavirus continue.

For more, read the full article on The Wall Street Journal

The Subscription Car Cabin

Excerpt from an article by Lorenzo Quolantoni on Revue Automobile

Will we pay for the heated car seat tomorrow, via a subscription, for the winter? We are entitled to think so. In a world where you rent your software rather than buy it, where you watch your movies via streaming instead of filling your shelves with DVDs, manufacturers could not sit by idly. According to Zuora, the revenue generated by subscriptions over the past 8 years has increased by 400%. During the first half of 2020, in a context marked by the coronavirus pandemic, subscription companies even grew 6 times faster than traditional companies. “There is a great fundamental movement, which is the passage from property to use, especially among young people.”

Michael Mansard, Director of Subscription Strategy at Zuora, sees this offer as a way of meeting customer needs as closely as possible: “When you choose an option ordering a vehicle, we sometimes end up with ones we never use; or, conversely, we regret not having taken another. Perhaps if an option is offered at the right time [via subscription], it will be of more interest to the customer.” A consumer could, for example (and hypothetically), reserve a four-wheel drive transmission, before the winter season.

For more, read the full article on Revue Automobile

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